R. v. Ringham Date:, 2015 BCPC 277

Citation: R. v. Ringham Date: 20150828 2015 BCPC 0277 File No: 38465-2-C Registry: Campbell River IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA REGINA v. GREGOR JOHN RINGHAM ORAL REASONS FOR SENTENCE OF THE HONOURABLE JUDGE P. DOHERTY Counsel for the Crown: D. Fitzsimmons Counsel for the Defendant: A.W. McGarvey, S. Baxter Place of Hearing: Campbell River , B.C. Date of Hearing: August 28, 2015 Date of Judgment: August 28, 2015

[ 1 ] THE COURT: Gregor John Ringham is before the court on Information Number 38465-C-2. He is charged and pled guilty to count 1: . . . between and including the 1st day of July, 2013 to the 15th of November, 2013, inclusive, at or near Campbell River in the Province of British Columbia, did break and enter a dwelling house, situate at [deleted for publication] with intent to commit and did commit mischief, an indictable offence therein, contrary to s. 348(1) (

d) of the Criminal Code . And count 4 of that same information: . . . from the 1st day of April, 2013 to the 31st day of August, 2013, inclusive, at or near Campbell River, in the Province of British Columbia, did break and enter a dwelling house, situate at [deleted for publication] with intent to commit and did commit mischief, an indictable offence therein, contrary to s. 348(1) (

d) of the Criminal Code . And finally, on that information, count 6: . . . from the 1st day of June, 2013 to the 30th day of August, 2013 inclusive, at or near Campbell River, in the Province of British Columbia, did commit mischief in relation to property, the value of which does not exceed five thousand dollars, by wilfully breaking into a motor vehicle, the property of D.W., contrary to s. 430(4) of the Criminal Code . [ 2 ] Some of the circumstances of this case are eerily similar to R. v.

Williams , a notorious case out of Eastern Canada involving a serving member of the armed forces. [ 3 ] According to the background, this 44-year old man has no court history. He has experienced several traumatic moments in his life and may well be suffering, among other things, a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. He is also an alcoholic. [ 4 ] It is worth touching on Dr. Lohrasbe's report. The psychiatrist reviews the background of the defendant and reports the alarming circumstances of the offences. As he says in the beginning, the report is to be focussed on a risk assessment.

He notes, at page 2, that the defendant had limited recall of events that have occurred when he has been extremely intoxicated with alcohol. He struck the doctor as an anxious man, and with spontaneous expressions of guilt, shame, regret and remorse. [ 5 ] I accept that he does express all of those things for his offences. [ 6 ] There is, Dr. Lohrasbe notes, a quality of interpersonal social awkwardness about the accused: "It comes across as some combination of social anxiety, low self-regard, shame and emotional numbing.

He is earnest, humble, self-effacing, serious and sombre, with a tendency toward being overly formal in speech. There is a timid, frightened, lost-soul quality to his speech and demeanour. He is a suggestible person, and suggestibility is often seen among those who lack confidence in their own recall. He is compliant and acquiescent, and his eagerness to take the moral responsibility is admirable. But it can mis-convey what he means." [ 7 ] "I got the impression that Mr. Ringham is more depressed than he will acknowledge, and filled with self-loathing. He has stopped drinking alcohol.

He has no history of mental health contact. He was living with his parents, and he has taken a number of steps which I will refer to, including going to AA meetings, Sexaholic Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, and the Upper Island Sex Offender program." [ 8 ] There were some traumatic events from his childhood, including sexual abuse. [ 9 ] "He has a daughter he tries to keep in contact with. [ 10 ] He has experienced some other events in his life which I have no doubt affected him.

He describes an incident of voyeurism in Revelstoke, where he saw an individual, went back with a video camera and videotaped that person." [ 11 ] The doctor describes an event when the accused was 16 years old. He takes responsibility -- which does not appear to be his at all -- for the death of people he could not rescue. He certainly made a valiant attempt. [ 12 ] His drinking to excess, I expect, has something to do with his wanting to numb himself and, the doctor says, to attempt to avoid the painful feelings whenever he has to deal with such traumas.

He began drinking seriously at 15 and has gone at it pretty heavily ever since. [ 13 ] At page 9, the doctor notes: although he has never broken into any homes prior to 2013, Mr. Ringham acknowledges an incident in 2008 in Revelstoke. He was intoxicated and walking past a co-worker's home, when he discovered she was disrobing and was visible through her ground floor window.

He returned some weeks later with a video camera and filmed a similar scene. [ 14 ] He gave the doctor an explanation as to why; he says he was ashamed to rent porn so he came up with the idea of getting pictures of something intimate, women's underwear notably, not from any store but from someone he knew, and he knew one of the

victims, S.M.. [ 15 ] One, and I can only describe it as creepy, of the things he did was to put GPS tracking devices on the cars of his victims, so he would know when they were away from their homes. In 2013, he entered S.M.'s home and took lots of pictures, perhaps more than 50, all over the house, including her calendar, her bedroom, and her underwear. It was more curiosity than anything, he says, "I took pictures of her underwear, and later I returned, about a month later, and did the same thing". [ 16 ] He acknowledges this to be a disgusting activity.

He says, "I didn't want them to know or cause any harm to them, so it was very important for me that they not know. I'd knock on the door or ring the doorbell, use the key to open the door, and yell and see if anyone was home." [ 17 ] That is the other thing that is disturbing, there are many disturbing things about his behaviour, but his acquisition of keys for both of these houses and the use of those keys shows careful planning and preparation. [ 18 ] Of his neighbour, Ms. S., he observed her slipping a key under the mat. He copied it and then used that to enter her residence.

He also put a GPS on her car so he would know when she was coming or going. He went into her home at least four times, perhaps as many as six. "I think six most probably", he said to the doctor. [ 19 ] One night he went into that home he was wearing a ski mask, he ran into a person in the house that he did not know was there, a roommate. She must have been just absolutely terrified and traumatized by what happened. He escaped the home, but he was later arrested after dropping his jacket.

His camera was in it, and all of the pictures that have been marked as exhibits in these proceedings were developed and offered in evidence. [ 20 ] As to count 3, he opened the car door and took pictures of her driver's licence. I am not sure what he intended, but, ominously, he was obtaining more personal information about a vulnerable woman. [ 21 ] As summarized above, the doctor notes, his acceptance of responsibility for his criminal behaviour is comprehensive. Unlike most offenders, he has acknowledged behaviours beyond that which have reached official documentation.

He also acknowledged placing GPS tracking devices on the vehicles, something that he knows could paint him in an even more malevolent light. But he made that disclosure trying to keep his commitment to being completely honest. [ 22 ] He has good insight and is able to identify a confluence of life experiences, emotions and habits that collectively contributed to his appalling behaviours. He understands how they are interconnected. He understands the relationships between trauma, avoidance, numbing, withdrawal, loneliness, et cetera. [ 23 ] There is no indication of a mental disorder.

Certainly the alcohol use or the alcoholism was present at the time. The available history, Dr. Lohrasbe suggests, an intermittent non-exclusive fetishism. He describes the voyeurism as an underlying theme of a lifestyle that is impoverished in its emotional and interpersonal components. [ 24 ] Under the risk assessment, the doctor says: I will proceed on the assumption that, intentionally or not, Mr. Ringham has inflicted psychological harm on the women whose homes he broke into. I would say that is a reasonable inference.

It is understandable that his repeated intrusions into the homes of vulnerable women raises concern. Indeed. [ 25 ] There are particular aspects that are especially alarming. These include the wearing of a mask, taking photographs of schedules, and using a GPS device on the victim's vehicle. [ 26 ] Despite the acknowledgement of sexual motivation, his targets were objects, at least to that extent. We do not know how far this might have developed, but Dr. Lohrasbe says that his risk factors have been identified.

He describes them, I have already mentioned, alcoholism and other factors. [ 27 ] To the defendant's credit, the doctor says, "I cannot recall any offender who has taken greater initiative and followed through on his commitment to his redemption and rehabilitation." [ 28 ] The doctor does acknowledge that the research and treatment effectiveness for sex offenders is not encouraging.

Most programs rely heavily on the relapse prevention approach, and that is why I thought it imperative that the sentence allow probation to monitor him in the community for as long as possible. [ 29 ] Any sentence over two years would not contain a probation order, and the maximum we could monitor him would be the four years after he had served his time and was out on parole. The total would be four years. With a two year less a day sentence, plus three years' probation, we can monitor him for five years, and that will be no doubt of benefit to him, but most importantly to the community.

[ 30 ] Defence counsel has naturally put great emphasis on rehabilitation. But rehabilitation is only one of the many principles of sentencing set out in s. 718 of the Criminal Code , which reads: The fundamental purpose of sentencing is to contribute, along with crime prevention initiatives, to respect for the law and the maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by imposing just sanctions that have one or more of the following objectives: (

a) to denounce unlawful conduct; (

b) to deter the offender and other persons from committing offences; (

c) to separate offenders from society, where necessary; (

d) to assist in rehabilitating offenders; (

e) to provide reparations for harm done to victims or to the community; and (

f) to promote a sense of responsibility in offenders, and acknowledgment of the harm done to victims and the community. [ 31 ] In this case, specific and general deterrence are, of course, factors, but importantly so is denunciation. A term of imprisonment of less than two years would not fit within the precepts of sentencing, especially as it relates to denunciation. [ 32 ] These young women were traumatized by these events. I have read their victim impact statements, and they are very troubling.

I hope that they will take whatever steps are necessary to deal with this trauma, by way of victim services or the provisions in the law that allow for compensation, to get assistance. [ 33 ] As I say, a term of imprisonment of less than two years, as originally proposed, would not suffice. The community, I have little doubt, would not be satisfied that the principle of denunciation would be satisfied, should this court sentence him to anything less than two years, given his actions.

It is important to maintain the confidence in the administration of justice that a fit sentence should be imposed. [ 34 ] There are a great many aggravating factors in this case, and some of them are: obtaining and copying the keys; being in the houses one or more times; taking photos of the victim's most intimate objects and clothing; using these photos for sexual gratification; disguising one's self; and having, albeit accidentally, a confrontation with an unsuspecting person in the home; taking photographs of the family, for reasons that are not clear, and their calendars; and, of course, the GPS attached to the vehicles; and on and on. [ 35 ] I have mentioned mitigating factors, including the fact that he comes before the court with no record.

He recognizes his alcoholism. There is an attempt to deal with that alcoholism by way of rehabilitation. His recognition of the psychological issues and his willingness to address them and deal with them by way of rehabilitation. The admission of his guilt, his wrongdoing, and his plea of guilty, plus additional admissions to the various authors that were not disclosed to the police. The fact that he is deemed to be low risk, although there is another view that he may be a moderate risk, but that view was presented prior to the accused taking the steps that he has taken while he has been at large.

The fact that he is highly motivated to continue on the road to rehabilitation and redemption. [ 36 ] Also, he has suffered, and I should recognize that, a financial cost, and he has been on restrictive bail for a considerable time. [ 37 ] Sir, stand up, please. [ 38 ] I sentence you to a term of imprisonment of two years less a day, plus I place you on probation for three years, with the following terms, for Madam Clerk's sake, as set out at page 5 of the probation officer's report. [ 39 ] That is you will keep the peace and be of good behaviour; appear before the court when required to do so; immediately report in person to the probation officer, that is upon your release, thereafter, as directed; no contact, direct or indirect, with K.S. or M.F., and there is one other individual -- [ 40 ] MR.

FITZSIMMONS: There are two other names, Your Honour, S.M. -- [ 41 ] THE COURT: S.M., of course. [ 42 ] MR. FITZSIMMONS: -- and D.W. [ 43 ] THE COURT: Yes. Not to be within 25 metres of their person under any circumstances; no go to any home in which they may reside, place of employment or school that they may attend, certainly no go to the residences. [ 44 ] You will reside where directed upon your release. [ 45 ] You are not to possess or consume any alcohol or controlled drugs except those that may be prescribed for you.

I am going to add that you should not be found in any place that has as its main aim the sale of alcohol, for example, no pubs, places like that, bars, liquor stores. [ 46 ] You shall attend, participate and successfully complete any assessment, counselling or program as directed by the probation officer, which may include forensic assessment, counselling or treatment through Forensic Psychiatric Services Commission, Victoria, or otherwise as directed by your probation officer, and you shall comply with all of the rules and regulations of any assessment and counselling program.

[ 47 ] You must attend and participate and complete individual and/or group therapy counselling for sexual offenders as directed by and to the satisfaction of a probation officer. [ 48 ] You shall take reasonable steps to maintain your mental health, such that you will not likely conduct yourself in a manner dangerous to yourself or anyone else, and not likely that you will commit further offences. [ 49 ] At the direction of a probation officer, you will attend from time to time upon a licenced medical practitioner for the purpose of receiving such medical counselling and treatment as may be recommended, except that you shall not be required to submit to any treatment or medication to which you do not consent. [ 50 ] If you do not consent to any form of medical treatment or medication prescribed or recommended, you shall notify the probation officer, and I require you to report to the probation, that's in addition, once per day. [ 51 ] You shall also provide your treating physician with a copy of this order and the name, address and telephone number of the probation officer.

You shall instruct your treating physician that if you fail to take medication as prescribed or fail to keep appointments, that he or she is to advise your probation officer immediately. [ 52 ] There will be a DNA order. [ 53 ] There will be a forfeiture order. [ 54 ] Counsel? [ 55 ] MR. FITZSIMMONS: Mr. Ringham continues to own the townhouse next door to Ms. S. [ 56 ] The Crown would seek an order that he not go to [deleted for publication]. It has been rented for a number of years. He has a property manager. I spoke to my friend about that. [ 57 ] THE COURT: Yes.

So long as she is living next door, yes. [ 58 ] The victim impact surcharges will apply. [ 59 ] I have sentenced you to two years less a day on the break and enters, and they will run concurrent, on the mischief, 30 days that will also run concurrent. [ 60 ] The surcharges are payable within 60 days. [ 61 ] Is there anything else? [ 62 ] MR. FITZSIMMONS: No, Your Honour. [ 63 ] THE COURT: Mr. McGarvey? [ 64 ] MR. McGARVEY: No, Your Honour. Thank you. [ 65 ] THE COURT: All right, sir.

For your benefit and for the benefit of the community and your family, I hope -- I wish you well, and I hope everything goes well for you and that we truly do not see you back here again. [ 66 ] You have to understand that if something like this happens again, you will be looking at a serious penitentiary term. There will be no avoiding it. [ 67 ] All right. Thank you, everyone. (REASONS FOR SENTENCE CONCLUDED)