Canadian man jailed for molesting 103-year-old woman with dementia
A Canadian man was jailed for 18 months on Tuesday (March 10) for sexually assaulting a 103-year-old woman with dementia at a nursing home.
Barry Wendel, 54, put his hands under her clothes and touched her breasts and pelvic area, reported Winnipeg Free Press.
He was caught in the act by a nursing home employee in December 2009, reported Winnipeg Sun.
The crime itself was bad enough. But his defence was worse.
Wendel claimed the woman had previously exposed herself to him and whispered that she wanted to have sex with him, local media reported.
Judge Sid Lerner called Wendel's criminal actions “reprehensible” and gave him the harshest possible penalty under the law.
Vulnerable people
Wendel's lawyer, Bruce Bonney, called the crime "almost victimless" as the woman did not comprehend what was happening.
But the judge disagreed, saying: "She was a vulnerable person in a community of vulnerable people. She was entitled to be safe from this type of sexual degradation."
The woman died at age 106 in 2012.
At present, Wendel has power of attorney for an elderly woman from a different nursing home who calls him "angel of mercy".
Winnipeg Sun reported that Wendel was also sentenced to three years of supervised probation. During this time, he cannot visit nursing homes or have unsupervised contact with seniors.
Sources: Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Sun
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