GUELPH – Palmerston resident Michael Hurst returned to Guelph Superior Court on Oct. 19 to hear prosecution and defence lawyers make sentencing recommendations to Justice Cynthia Petersen.
A jury convicted Hurst last month on three counts of sexual assault, and acquitted him on two remaining counts, following a week-long trial that began Sept. 11.
The 46-year-old was charged in 2021 with multiple sexual assaults against two women between 2017 and 2020.
The Advertiser is unable to name the women, or report on many specific details heard in court during the trial because of a court-ordered publication ban, which is standard in sexual assault trials.
A victim impact statement from one woman read aloud in court told of how the woman’s life and personality has changed for the worse since Hurst sexually assaulted her.
“I fear running into Michael around our area,” she said.
“I am both angry and sad,” the woman said of having to see her children watch their mother change from the extroverted person she was before.
Crown prosecutor Peter Keen told the court the effect of Hurst’s offences goes beyond the physical, having a “significant and long-lasting effect.”
Hurst’s offences “over an extended period of time” had a “predatory aspect,” court heard from Keen, who said assaulting women is part of Hurst’s character.
The September trial marked Hurst’s second for similar offences, the prosecutor noted.
He was sentenced earlier this year to two years of house arrest followed by three years of probation after being found guilty of sexually assaulting two women, and committing an indecent act in front of an additional three women, between 2007 and 2015.
“He’s a sex offender, and a repeat sex offender,” Keen asserted, adding the evidence heard in court “cries out” for a sentence of 12 to 15 months in “real jail.”
Hurst’s defence lawyer Mary Murphy suggested a range of sentencing, from a conviction with probation to an intermittent sentence of 90 days, served only on certain days of the week.
Keen argued a sentence consisting only of probation is “not within range” for the offences.
He also argued against Murphy’s suggestion of a 90-day intermittent sentence, saying it might be appropriate for a first-time offender, but not for someone like Hurst.
Murphy told court Hurst has taken “very significant” steps since the 2021 charges to understand his behaviour.
Hurst’s belief at the time of the offences, Murphy said, was the women welcomed his advances.
He has since “taken all of this very seriously,” court heard, and learned his behaviour was unacceptable.
Murphy also referenced a pre-sentence report in which Hurst reportedly said he has a “gut-wrenching feeling” knowing how his actions have affected the women.
Keen argued Hurst’s acceptance, as characterized by the defence, has a minimizing tone to it.
Murphy said there has been “significant” collateral consequences for Hurst and his family, including a young son, explaining that the community has ostracized the Hursts.
“In a small community, [it’s] big news,” Murphy remarked.
Contrary to rumours circulating the community, court heard, Hurst has been compliant with the conditions of his previous sentence, and taken steps to avoid problematic interactions in the community.
Hurst chose not to address the court when asked by the judge.
Because of the significant difference between the Crown and defence submissions, Justice Petersen reserved her judgement for Nov. 15, when Hurst will return to Guelph Superior Court to find out if he’s being sent to prison.
