WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.
A man convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing two children while they were in his care roughly three decades ago was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison, in a case whose details a judge described as “horrendous, to say the least.”
Following a trial in Manitoba provincial court last year, Thomas Martin Butler was convicted of more than a dozen offences that happened from 1994 to 1998.
The case was unusual because the victims, siblings Raven-Dominique and Jeffery Gobeil, opted not to request a standard publication ban on their names, allowing themselves to be publicly identified as survivors of sexual assault.
Raven-Dominique, now a lawyer focused on child welfare and First Nations law, and her brother Jeffery, a social worker and comedian, said it was important to them to be able to speak publicly about the case.
“It would not have made sense to me to go through this as being anonymous,” Raven-Dominique said. “I understand why people would do it. It has been a lot. But if it helps other people draw courage, then it was worth it, in my opinion.”
They said Tuesday they couldn’t believe their years-long court battle ended in such a long sentence for their abuser. While prosecutors had asked for 25 years, Butler’s lawyers had argued for 10 years because of the 69-year-old’s age and health problems.
“I hadn’t even imagined the possibility of it being 25 years. As a lawyer, that 25 years is pretty mind-boggling, because it’s going to set some precedents going forward. And as the victim in this case, it’s absolutely shocking to me that it’s 25 years,” Raven-Dominique, 33, said.
“If you had told me five years ago that we would be here today I would not have believed you. I wouldn’t have even thought it was possible.”
Jeffery, 35, said he is “still in the shock of it all.”
“It was kind of an immediate release to know that once the sentencing’s done, today’s the last day I’ll ever see him in person.”
The siblings confronted Butler in court in January, reading victim impact statements that the judge in the case on Tuesday described as “gut-wrenching descriptions of how Mr. Butler’s actions have so profoundly affected their lives.”
“Both Raven and Jeffery are to be commended for their achievements in life, despite having endured the unthinkable conduct perpetrated upon them by the accused,” Judge Kevin Lang, the Saskatchewan judge who heard the case in Manitoba, said Tuesday.
“They were resilient, grew stronger with age, and finally, when they were ready, they had the courage to seek out justice for the wrongs committed against them by the accused.”
‘I will carry that with me’
Butler is the father of the victims’ half-siblings, and often had the victims in his care as a result, the written decision in the case said. Jeffery previously testified he was between three and eight years old around the time of the abuse, while Raven-Dominique told court she was between two and six.
Court previously heard Butler made the young children in his care abuse each other or watch others abused, and made them consume alcohol or drugs. He also involved other adults in the children’s abuse, and made threats about what might happen if they told anyone.
Judge Lang said the case was “particularly disturbing,” because the abuse “related to two young and vulnerable victims with respect to whom the accused was in a position of trust at the time.”
While the Gobeil siblings’ case is now dealt with, Raven-Dominique and Jeffery said other people have now started coming forward to them to share their own stories of abuse.
“That’s why it was important,” Jeffery said. “I will carry that with me, and I anticipate more will be telling me and disclosing to me — and I think that’s been the most impactful to me during this whole thing.”
Lang’s sentencing decision said while it was “difficult to identify mitigating factors for Mr. Butler,” the list of aggravating factors in the case included that he was in a position of trust with the children, the severity of the abuse, and that the siblings, who court heard are Anishinaabe from Poplar River First Nation, were “very young, vulnerable, Indigenous [children].”
A pre-sentence report said Butler, who entered court using a walker on Tuesday, had a difficult childhood that also involved abuse. But prosecutor Boyd McGill previously said little in the report helps understand why Butler would “offend so horrifically against the little ones in his care.”
While the judge’s sentencing decision for Butler initially came out to 30 years, it was reduced to 25 after considering the principle of totality, which aims to avoid excessive sentences on multiple charges. Butler was also given enhanced credit for time he’s already served in custody, taking 269 days off his sentence going forward.
He was also given a number of other orders as part of his sentence, which included registering as a sex offender and not going places where people under 16 are expected to be, like schools or playgrounds.
Lawyer Mike Cook said Butler’s defence is considering appealing his sentence, and that they will “go through the court’s decision carefully in the days ahead.”
If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Sexual Violence Association of Canada database.
A man convicted of repeatedly sexually abusing two children while they were in his care roughly three decades ago has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, in a case whose details a judge described as “horrendous.”
