A Nova Scotia woman who was abused by her common-law partner for the majority of their 13 years together said she still lives in fear of Andre Arron Gerrard.
“I feel like I will be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life,” the woman said in a victim impact statement at the Eastern Shore man’s sentencing hearing in Dartmouth provincial court.
Gerrard, 40, of Spry Harbour, stood trial last year and was convicted of 13 offences spanning an eight-year period.
Last week, Judge Jean Whalen gave him a total of 30 months in prison on five of those charges, including pointing a rifle at his former spouse, careless use of a firearm, uttering threats to cause her bodily harm or death, and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
Gerrard received two years’ probation on eight other charges. Those offences included assault causing bodily harm, threatening to burn her property, property mischief, uttering threats to kill his stepson, and two counts each of assaulting and criminally harassing his ex.
The offences were committed in Spry Harbour between December 2009 and October 2017.
Gerrard was acquitted on a charge of forcible confinement.
“To say that (the victim) experienced a living hell for eight years while with Mr. Gerrard would be an understatement,” Whalen said in her sentencing decision. “Even to this day, she is fearful of him.”
The judge said “things began to change” after Gerrard moved in with the woman.
“He slowly started to take control, smashed phones, cars and furniture, and then the assaults began - the slaps, the grabs, the pushes, the kicks, the threats,” Whalen said.
“And then the use of weapons. On at least occasion, the rifle was loaded, and on at least one occasion, (their) daughter was in the home.”
In every relationship, individuals have disagreements, arguments and get angry, the judge said.
“The key is how to channel that anger,” she said. “Mr. Gerrard’s anger towards (the victim) resulted in a disproportionate response. No one in their right mind would agree that an argument over your children should result in threats (or) cause bodily harm.
“(The complainant) was extremely frightened. Mr. Gerrard was an individual who had been around guns from an early age, had hunted, and he knew how to use them. He did not care or gave no thought to the negative effect his actions would have upon (his partner) or his daughter.”
In an interview for his pre-sentence report, Gerrard told a probation officer he was not guilty “because these things did not happen.” He said he was totally blindsided by the allegations and could not take responsibility for something that did not happen.
Crown attorney Jane Mills recommended a prison term of three to five years because of the number of offences, the use of weapons and the impact of the domestic violence on the entire family.
Defence lawyer Ian Hutchison requested a conditional sentence and probation for Gerrard, a lobster fisherman who volunteers in his community.
Gerrard told the court a jail sentence would wreak havoc on his personal life and his family and asked for leniency.
“Domestic violence is not a private matter,” the judge said in her sentencing analysis.
“Our Court of Appeal and other courts of appeal have clearly stated that when it comes to crimes of violence perpetrated on spouses and intimate partners in domestic relationships, sentencing judges should in the clearest terms stress the denunciation of the unlawful conduct and general deterrence, as well as specific deterrence of the offender.
“I am not satisfied that the principles of specific and general deterrence would be met by the imposition of a conditional sentence order. But I have also not forgotten about the principle of rehabilitation in crafting this sentence.
"Although Mr. Gerrard takes no responsibility for these offences, I can only hold out hope that he will come to realize the impact that these events have had upon his daughter and work towards healing that relationship.”
In addition to the prison time and probation, the judge imposed a lifetime weapons prohibition and ordered Gerrard to provide a DNA sample for a national databank. She also directed him to make restitution of $5,736 to his ex for items he damaged or destroyed.
