no more jail time, two years probation for sask. man who abducted daughter
justice heather macmillan-brown delivered a time-served sentence for michael gordon jackson, who kidnapped his daughter in contravention of a parenting order.
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michael gordon jackson, charged with abduction in contravention of a parenting order, walks into the king's bench courthouse on april 11, 2024 in regina.
kayle neis
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regina leader-post
a regina judge has decided michael gordon jackson, who took his daughter on the run across canada, has already spent enough time sitting in a jail cell. on friday, jackson, 55, received a one-year sentence for abduction of his daughter in contravention of a parenting order. however, because he was given the standard time-and-a-half credit for nearly one year spent on remand before his trial, it means he will serve no further time in custody.
the decision by court of king’s bench justice heather macmillan-brown also ordered him to spend two years on probation, which includes a list of conditions he must follow.
the abduction charge was dated between dec. 6, 2021 and jan. 21, 2022. police found jackson, who’s from carievale, sask., along with the girl in vernon, b.c. in late-february 2022. jackson testified at trial that he’d taken the girl — seven years old at the time — in a bid to stop her from being vaccinated for covid-19.
the crown and jackson, who represented himself without a lawyer, presented their arguments on sentence over the course of dates in august and october.
on friday, the judge said she accepted that jackson’s purpose “may well have been to protect” his daughter. she also accepted that he loved his daughter and she was not put at risk of physical harm.
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nonetheless, the judge said jackson “tore” his daughter away from “all that she knew in her everyday life” for three-and-a-half months.
“even if he had the best of intentions, mr. jackson’s actions have ramifications, not only within the family law realm, but also in this, the criminal law realm.”
the question, the judge said, is what the ramifications should be.
the sentence imposed by macmillan-brown fell short of what was suggested by the crown — two years in custody (199 days after remand credit) followed by three years of probation. jackson’s position was that he’d already been punished enough, and the probation the judge imposed was something the convicted man had argued against.
conditions he must follow include: keeping the peace; attending court when required; reporting to a probation officer; remaining in the court’s jurisdiction; living at an approved residence; not contacting his ex-wife, except through a lawyer; not contacting his daughter, unless given permission by the court; obeying court orders; and completing 100 hours of community service.
macmillan-brown went over the victim impact statement submitted by jackson’s ex-wife. the judge said it showed the profound impact the crime had on both the mother and jackson’s daughter.
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she stated that jackson had shown no remorse, fails to see the harm he inflicted, and it’s clear he sees himself as a martyr.
however, she said the convicted man’s actions did not approach the egregiousness of cases where courts had imposed a two-year custodial sentence.
“i want to impress upon mr. jackson, and any other parent who would make a mockery of family court orders, just how serious mr. jackson’s offence was,” the judge said.
quoting the words of another judge, macmillan-brown said: “child abduction is a horrible crime that causes enormous danger to all of the victims. no parent should think that they can kidnap their own child and disappear, without significant punishment.”
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