In the early morning hours of June 7, 2024, a woman contacted city police because she wanted Watson Desmoulin removed from her residence.
When officers arrived, he "was heavily intoxicated" and "was stumbling," a judge heard last week.
She told them they had argued and he "had choked her," prosecutor Heidi Mitchell said.
The woman "had finger marks on her throat and a raspy voice," she told Ontario Court Justice Robert Villeneuve.
At the time, Desmoulin was bound by two separate probation orders that required him to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
He pleaded guilty to assault and breach of probation stemming from his actions in June of last year.
The Pic Mobert man also was convicted of three counts of breaching a release order in February of this year.
He didn't comply with a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, and requirements that he not contact the woman and not be within 50 metres of her.
Villeneuve heard she contacted the cops at 7:44 a.m. on Feb. 23 because her boyfriend was at her residence.
The woman said she woke up at 6 a.m. to hear him knocking on her door, pacing up and down her driveway and yelling at her.
Desmoulin left before police arrived, but was located on Feb. 25 and arrested, and has been in custody since then.
The Crown and defence lawyer Eric McCooeye jointly recommended a sentence of time served – the equivalent of four months – and three years probation.
He has a relatively recent record with a number of convictions for violence, Mitchell said.
The lawyers agreed there were triable issues.
There were other incidents occurring that night, McCooeye told the court.
Desmoulin returned to Pic Mobert First Nation following the first charges and was doing well.
He returned to the Sault in February and was arrested the following day.
This sentence will remind him not to come here, the defence said, and the probation order will help him with his issues.
Referring to his record, Villeneuve told the accused he's concerned about his four prior convictions for assault.
"I don't know if they are related to your consumption of alcohol," he said. "If it is with these offences it's time to look at that."
Eighty days behind bars (120 days with the enhanced credit) is "the longest period you've spent in jail," the judge noted.
Choking is an aggravating factor, and the sentence is in the range but it could have been longer.
The best thing for you is to go to Pic Mobert, Villeneuve urged, to keep your head down and don't come back to Sault Ste. Marie.
During his three-year probation, Desmoulin must take any recommended assessment, counselling and rehabilitative programs for anger management, substance abuse and domestic violence, including the Partner Assault Response program (PAR).
He must remain 50 metres away from the complainant and can't possess any weapons.
Desmoulin must also provide a DNA sample for the national database.