SUDBURY -- A Sudbury man and woman convicted of sexual assault are avoiding going to jail Tuesday after being granted bail pending an appeal.
It has been almost a decade since the sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman in Sudbury occurred and despite being convicted and sentenced, the perpetrators continue to walk free.
David Case and Celine Loyer were convicted on March 5, 2020, of sexually assaulting a young woman in June of 2011. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and several lockdowns, their sentencing was finally handed down on Monday morning.
Case and Loyer have been sentenced to 16 months in prison and two years probation in connection to the incident.
However, since both have been granted bail pending appeal by the Court of Appeal, neither will be required to step into custody.
Attorneys for the two defendants, Nick Xynnis and Michael Haraschuk, told CTV News it is unlikely that Case and Loyer's appeal will be heard before next year at the earliest.
"The Sudbury Crown’s office is not involved in the appeal process, however, the fact that they were granted bail pending appeal does not indicate one way or another if the appeal is going to be successful," said Stephanie Baker, Sudbury Assistant Crown attorney. "The Supreme Court in Oland made clear that the 'not frivolous' standard for assessing the strength of an appeal for bail pending appeal purposes is a 'very low bar.'"
Baker said the complainant demonstrated a tremendous amount of courage in participating in the court proceedings.
"The Crown hopes that the conviction and sentence Mr. Case and Ms. Loyer received today will provide her with a certain amount of recognition for the harm that she endured and send a message to the community at large that offences such as these will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," Baker said.
