Michael Gordon Jackson will not serve jail time after COVID-19 abduction | Globalnews.ca
The case of Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan father who abducted his daughter to keep her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has come to an end.
On Friday, Jackson was sentenced to a 12-month prison term followed by two years’ probation.
However, Jackson was credited for time already served, which was 531 days while on remand.
As a result, Jackson will not spend another day in prison.
“He will be free to go today subject to the terms of the probation,” Justice MacMillan-Brown said.
“Without minimizing the injury Mr. Jackson inflicted… I cannot accept the Crown’s position a two-year custodial sentence is appropriate in this case.”
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
One of the terms of Jackson’s probation is no contact with his daughter and her mother, who is also his ex-wife. He was also handed 100 hours of community service.
Jackson was on trial for contravention of a custody order, after allegedly abducting his daughter in November 2021 until February 2022 to avoid a COVID-19 vaccine.
Jackson pleaded not guilty and chose to represent himself. In April, Jackson was found guilty.
In August, the Crown requested a two-year sentence followed by three years of probation and 200 hours of community service. Jackson had argued he deserved no repercussions for his actions.
In his comments before the judge, Jackson argued more severe cases of abduction in Canada have received lesser punishment.
Meanwhile, Crown prosecutor Zoey Kim-Zeggelaar told the judge a strong sentence was necessary, as she believed Jackson was going to violate any court order he disagreed with.
Jurors heard throughout the trial, including from the accused himself, that Jackson took the girl to stop her from being vaccinated for COVID-19. He believed his ex-wife would have the child vaccinated which Jackson believed could cause harm.
The Crown argued Jackson’s goal of keeping his daughter unvaccinated meant that he purposely kept the girl away from her mother.
Throughout the trial, each of the Crown’s witnesses testified Jackson had a very close relationship with his daughter, with one witness calling the relationship exceptional.
More to come…
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
;Resize=(620)&w=390&resize=390,220&ssl=1 "Another storm approaches Vancouver Island as B.C. Hydro crews race to restore power to thousands | CBC News")
