Sex offender gets 27-month sentence for abuse of girl
Author: Brandon Walker
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JA 46-year-old Timmins native was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Monday for charges stemming from sexual interference with a young girl between 2001 and late 2004.

Jamie Martin, now of Hamilton, was on trial in Superior Court in February responding to allegations that he performed simulated sexual intercourse on his common-law wife's daughter. The victim was seven years old when the acts began, while the family lived in the Niagara region.

The mother found employment in Timmins and moved with daughter here in 2003, although the couple maintained the relationship.

Martin would regularly travel between Hamilton and Timmins to visit the mother, who became pregnant with his child, and the woman's then-10-year-old daughter, who he continued to perform simulated sexual intercourse on.

The victim testified he would bribe her with money or food. He also told her to keep it a secret and not tell anyone, especially her mom.

The girl disclosed the abuse to the Timmins Police Service in October 2006, including the events from the acts in both the Niagara region and Timmins. She had moved to Timmins only the month before to live with her natural father and finally felt safe from Martin, court heard.

The accused was arrested by city police in March 2007. He called the girl a liar, denying the claims of sexual interference.

Martin claimed the only reason the girl brought the charges forward was because he had pled guilty to identical charges in Hamilton in 1995, receiving a six-month jail sentence for sexually assaulting a young girl while living with her mother.

Martin told police although he pled guilty and served jail time for the previous conviction, he was innocent.

Police released him on various conditions, including not having any contact with the current victim or her father.

On July 3. 2007, he called the victim. She told court he said, "Hi sweetie. It's me. Please don't hang up. I think we can work something out."

The victim hung up the phone and called her father at work, terrified, before locking all the doors in the house and turning on the alarm system.

Because of this breach of bail conditions, Timmins police planned on arresting Martin when he was to travel to Timmins for a previously scheduled court appearance two weeks later on July 17. However, they picked him up the day before when they received a complaint that he had walked past the victim's home, court heard.

When he attended the bail hearing, Martin turned to the audience and pointed to the victim's father, court heard.

"You'll pay," he said before Justice of the Peace Jean-Marie Bli‚ had entered court. The court however, ordered his release, with several conditions, including he could only come to Timmins to visit his ailing mother once, for his trial dates, and he could not possess firearms.

On July 24, the Crown successfully appealed that release decision and Martin was ordered to remain at the Monteith Correctional Facility until his trial was complete.

On Feb. 19, the week-long trial began.

Although an individual on trial normally can't have the details of past convictions held against him or her, during the trial the Crown was successful in making a similar fact application. This allowed the now 26-year-old Hamilton victim to testify in the current proceedings.

The abuses she described to Justice David Nadeau were very similar to the current victim's claims.

Justice Nadeau accepted her evidence and used it to support the testimony of the now-15-year-old complainant. He described the similarity between the victims' abuse compelling, especially since they did not really know each other.

The teen age complainant testified for seven hours during the trial. Justice Nadeau found her testimony to be credible and reliable and he had no reasonable doubt on March 4 when he determined Martin was guilty of the charges against him.

On Monday, Justice Nadeau sentenced Martin to two years and one month in jail on the sexual interference count, one month consecutive for breach of recognizance for calling the victim, and one more month consecutive for communicating with the father in court. The 27month sentence was meted out on top of the eight-and-a-half months Martin had spent in pre-trial custody.

A pre-sentence report was ordered and sentencing was adjourned to Monday. Martin must register annually for 20 years with the national registry of sex offenders, must no possess any firearms or ammunition, and he will have to contribute a DNA sample to a national crime databank.

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