It's been nearly two years since Vincent Belair stalked a woman when she stepped off a city bus in downtown Sault Ste. Marie and then attacked her.
The Timmins man's actions on that December 2022 night destroyed her life, a judge was told last week.
She can't ride the bus anymore, can't live alone, can't go to work or school, is paranoid that someone is following her, and has numerous locks on her door.
In a victim impact statement, that prosecutor Trent Wilson outlined to the court, she detailed her constant fear and worry that there's no one to protect her.
Superior Court Justice Edward Gareau heard she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and is on medication that her doctor expects she will be taking for the rest of her life.
Belair, 37, pleaded guilty to eight charges stemming from the incident on Oct. 10 and was in court last Thursday to be sentenced.
In a press release on Dec. 16, 2022, the Sault Ste. Police Service reported that a Timmins resident had been charged with kidnapping and seven other offences in connection with an incident that occurred two days earlier.
Around 9 p.m., the victim got off a city transit bus on Wellington Street East near Pim Street.
The accused followed her, then struck the woman and forced her into a residence in the 700 block of Wellington, where he assaulted her again, the police said
She managed to escape the following day and contacted the cops.
When officers arrested and searched Belair, they found he had pepper spray and what appeared to be fentanyl. Police believed he'd only been in the Sault for three or four days prior to the incident and didn't know the victim.
In October, Belair pleaded guilty to forcible confinement, assault, and threatening death or bodily harm.
He also was convicted of two offences involving possession of the pepper spray, as well as single counts of possession of a controlled substance, breaching probation and another order.
On Thursday, Wilson called the "random, public nature of this (attack) very, very problematic."
The woman's "a vulnerable person and it's no fault of her own," the assistant Crown attorney said.
"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time – on a bus."
He told the judge that Belair, who was representing himself, seems to be well-spoken, a calm and reasonable individual in court but "let's not be fooled by that."
Belair has a lengthy criminal record with 215 convictions.
As a 21-year prosecutor, "I don't know if I've ever seen such a record," Wilson said, describing "this kind of criminal history" as rare.
There are numerous property offences, as well as 11 assault-related offences, including assault causing bodily harm and assaulting police, in addition to weapon and forcible confinement counts.
Belair's rap sheet also reveals 72 convictions for failing to follow court orders and that he's spent nearly 20 years on probation, the Crown said, adding he had not yet mentioned the thefts, B&Es and dangerous operation on the man's record.
"This is a rare individual before you with this kind of criminal history," Wilson said.
The Crown outlined a joint position that Belair had accepted – a four-year sentence less credit for the time he has spent in custody since his arrest, followed by three years probation.
He described it as the low end of the range, but the pleas in this case are an "extremely mitigating factor.'
Also because of the time Belair has already done, he is eligible for probation, which means the court can put him on conditions to protect the victim.
She "will never go back to the position she was in before boarding the bus that day," Wilson said. "Hopefully, this will provide her confidence that he will stay away from her.'
Belair told the court he's been struggling with addiction for the last 19 years, and as a result has accumulated an extensive criminal record.
"I've been doing a life sentence on the instalment plan and have come to the realization that I'm going to suffer from addictions for the rest of my life," he said.
"I take full responsibility for my actions that day."
When he imposed the sentence, the judge noted Belair has "a horrendous criminal record" and "has been incarcerated for much of his life."
Gareau agreed the sentence may be on the low end of the scale for a serious crime involving a repeat offender.
He cited the violent nature of the offences, the effect Belair's actions have had on the victim and his criminal record as aggravating factors.
"The pleas in this case are a huge mitigating factor" because they end this matter and spare the victim from having to relive that day in court," Gareau said.
With the enhanced credit he received for the time he's spent in pre-sentence custody, Belair faces a further 190 days behind bars.
He will be on probation for three years, the maximum permitted under the Criminal Code of Canada.
During that time, he can have no contact with the woman and must remain 50 metres away from her. Gareau also imposed a life-time weapons prohibition and ordered him to provide a DNA sample.