WINDSOR, Ont. — A Windsor grandfather who shared his sexual fantasies online with a 13-year-old girl, then visited her elementary school to meet her, was sentenced to nearly two years in jail.
Norman A. Gelinas, 64, pleaded guilty to luring a child for the purpose of committing a sexual crime. After his release from custody, he will be on probation for three years and, as a registered sex offender, will be monitored by police for the next decade.
For two months, Gelinas sent sexually explicit messages to the girl over Facebook. Gelinas told the girl his name was Jack Bews and said he wanted to meet her for sex.
Then one day in April 2015, he called the girl on her cellphone and came to her school. She got scared and finally divulged to her teachers, mother and police what was happening.
Police traced the messages to the computer in the home Gelinas shared with his wife of 42 years. Officers were also able to gather evidence showing his cellphone had been in the vicinity of the school on the date in question.
Assistant Crown attorney Kim Bertholet said the case against Gelinas was strong.
Gelinas had, at first, pleaded not guilty and was scheduled to have a preliminary hearing. His guilty plea spared his emotionally fragile victim from having to testify.
Court heard the girl has been hospitalized 12 times since the incident and has been suicidal. In passing sentence on Gelinas, Ontario court Justice Lloyd Dean noted the psychological harm Gelinas caused the girl.
“Young people are, of course, fragile to begin with and vulnerable,” Dean said, adding he wanted to assure her “not all men would do something like this.”
Defence lawyer Laura Joy said Gelinas was suffering from severe depression at the time of the offence. He had a brain tumour removed as a child and has a learning disability and neurological issues.
When asked if he had anything to say before being sentenced, Gelinas stood and apologized to the girl and his own family.
“It was me, but it wasn’t me mentally.”
Court heard Gelinas has four children and seven grandchildren.
A short, stout man with grey hair, Gelinas is often described as looking distinguished, Joy said. At the time of his arrest, he was unshaven and hadn’t showered in a month — a testament to his mental deterioration, she said.
“This was a terrible offence, but it was a fantasy,” Joy said. “He assures me it’s not something he would have followed through on.”
Dean sentenced Gelinas to two years less a day in a provincial jail, minus 15 days of enhanced credit for the 10 days he spent in jail before being released on bail. At Joy’s request, Dean is recommending Gelinas be incarcerated at a reformatory that specializes in sex offenders and convicts with mental illness.
Gelinas is not to contact his victim or her mother and can’t use a computer to communicate with anyone under the age of 16. A special order prohibits him from going to parks, public swimming areas, schools, day care centres or community centres for 10 years and he is not to work or be alone with anyone under the age of 16.
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