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crown argues michael gordon jackson should serve more time in jail
jackson's ex-wife told court that the she's been left with a deep emotional scar following her daughter's abduction.
aug 9 2024
3 minute read
in this leader-post file photo, michael gordon jackson walks into the king's bench courthouse on april 11, 2024 in regina. jackson was convicted of abducting his daughter in contravention of a custody order.
kayle neis
/
regina leader-post
the crown believes the court should send a message when it sentences michael gordon jackson for abducting his daughter in contravention of a custody order.
and that message should come by way of a two-year sentence followed by three years on probation, coupled with 200 hours of community service, according to the submissions of prosecutor zoey kim-zeggelaar. with credit for time served on remand, that would leave jackson with 199 days of jail time, going forward.
jackson, who is from carievale, saskatchewan, took his daughter on the run in late 2021 in what he described at trial as a bid to protect her from being vaccinated for covid-19 under her mother’s care. he and the then-seven-year-old girl were found in vernon, b.c. in late february of 2022, where he was arrested.
kim-zeggelaar presented her submissions about an appropriate sentence in regina’s court of king’s bench on friday, following jackson’s conviction in april.
normally, at such a hearing, both crown and defence would present submissions. however, jackson, who is self-represented, told justice heather macmillan-brown that he needed more time to prepare, as he’d only just received the written materials filed by the other lawyers working on the case.
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while the judge questioned him, she eventually granted his request, setting a date later this month for him to make his submissions.
as jackson watched kim-zeggelaar speak, he made notes.
she said jackson’s was a serious crime involving a young child “ripped from her community, taken from her mother on the basis of an individual belief.”
the prosecutor suggested the corresponding sentence should be strong, deterrent in nature, and should denounce the conduct.
“we cannot assert in stronger words the need for that type of sentence to impress on mr. jackson, and those who would follow his example, that court orders are to be obeyed, no matter creed, conscience, belief or bias.”
she noted jackson’s criminal record is limited, carrying only one criminal harassment entry from roughly 30 years ago. and she accepted that jackson had no intent to physically harm the girl.
but she highlighted that he’d isolated the child from her mother, and she said his plan was to do so indefinitely. she accepted his primary reason was to stop the girl from being vaccinated, but suggested he tried to use the child as leverage as he negotiated with police, making demands pertaining to the custody arrangement, and his own fate.
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she acknowledged that in other cases, sentencing judges have considered an abducting parent’s belief about the best interest of their child.
“did he subjectively have this belief that harm would come? yes,” the prosecutor said.
but kim-zeggelaar said she didn’t feel there was an “objective measure” that the child would’ve come to harm under her mother’s care, and cautioned that “many people hold many beliefs in many different things.”
“ultimately, when those beliefs conflict with the law, it is the law that must prevail.”
jackson’s ex-wife also spoke at the hearing.
she said the emotional impact of jackson’s crime has been profound, noting she’s no longer the person she was before the abduction.
“i almost lost my mind,” she said, detailing her experience from when the child was still missing.
but even after she was reunited with her daughter, the woman said she’s dealt with fear, anxiety, trust issues and aggravated health problems, in addition to financial burdens.
she said she’s had to navigate difficult conversations in the community about what happened and she’s had to try to explain to her daughter how to do the same, while fearing the child would be bullied.
“the guilt of not being able to protect her, and the constant worry of her safety, have left me with a deep emotional scar.”
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jackson remains on release, pending the outcome of his sentencing.
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