Man sentenced to 3 years for sexually assaulting woman he picked up on highway, assaulting teenage girl

WARNING: This article may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or who know someone affected by it.

A man who sexually assaulted a woman he picked up on the side of the road in northern Manitoba last year and assaulted a teenage girl years earlier, in what a prosecutor called "egregious" offences, has been sentenced to three years in prison, minus the time he's already served.

As a result, there was just overa year left in the sentence Armand Thrones was handed in August,after he pleaded guilty to both counts, which were related to two separate crimes in 2023 and 2019. Both victims' identities are protected by a publication ban.

The 2023 sexual assault involved a 24-year-old woman whoThrones, then 34, picked up on the highway near The Pas on his way to a cabin, where he sexually assaulted her.

"From the Crown's perspective, your honour, [Thrones is] far from a Good Samaritan. In fact, he admits to his behaviour, although perhaps his insight is not very good," Crown attorney Guillaume Dragon said during sentencing arguments in July, calling Thrones's suggestion he thought the woman consented "likely not consistent with the facts of this case."

Court heard the woman had gotten out of a vehicle following an argument with her mother, but realized she had no cell service to call her to come back.

The woman reluctantly decided to trust Thrones when he offered her a ride, because she felt she didn't have much choice, but "ultimately was very wrong about his intentions,"Dragon said.

The woman said she consumed alcohol and cocaine with Thrones at the cabin, where she said she then woke up at one pointwith Thrones on top of her.

She later told police "that she was terrified, that she was frozen, and that she felt given the circumstances that going along with Mr. Thrones would be the safest option for her," the prosecutor said.

The woman was later able to call for help using Thrones's phone.

Court also heard a victim impact statement from the woman's father, who said his daughter now suffers from nightmares and anxiety.

Court records show other charges initially laid, including forcible confinement, uttering threats and assault while choking, suffocating or strangling, were stayed.

The other incident Thrones pleaded guilty to happened in 2019, when a teenage girl who was babysitting at his home while Thrones and his partner were out said she was asleep in the basement when the couple returned home and awoke to Thrones touching her thigh.

"It's alleged he said, 'I just wanted to see how you felt,'" Dragon said, adding the girl, who has since died,told Thrones to stop before he went upstairs and later said she believed Thrones had been drinking.

Court records showThrones was initially charged with sexual interference, which was stayed when he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault.

Provincial court Judge Lori Hunter agreed with a joint sentencing recommendation put forward by the Crown and defence, giving Thrones three years in prison for the 2023 sexual assault. That sentence was reduced by the enhanced credit he got for time already spent in custody.

Thrones also got 90 days for the 2019 assault, which is being served concurrently with the three-year sentence.

Victim's mother calls sentence 'disgusting'

The mother of the then-teenage girl Thrones was convicted of assaulting, whom she said died accidentally earlier this year by choking on medication, called the sentence Thrones got "a slap on the wrist and unfair to women."

"It was disgusting," the mother said in an interview. "It sends the message that women out there are not protected, but the criminals are."

The mother of the woman whom Thrones sexually assaulted after picking her up on the highway saidin text messages to CBC News thathis sentence is "not justice at all," and her daughter will "live in fear for the rest of her life."

Both mothers said they're worried about what Thrones, who court heard has an above average risk to reoffend, may do when he's released.

CBC News is not naming either of the women because of the publication ban on their daughters' identities.

A provincial spokesperson said in an email that Crown attorneys often use plea bargains to hold offenders accountable, and that the joint recommendation for Thrones "reflected the challenge the Crown faced in garnering the testimonial evidence required to secure convictions if the matters proceeded to trial."

Defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said in an email that while Thrones's sentence if he'd been convicted after a trial "could have been two or three times greater," his guilty plea was "heavily mitigating" and allowed a "vulnerable witness" to avoid testifying.

Court heard Thrones has struggled with addictions and believed those issues were what led to both incidents.

"I know I was drinking and I wasn't exactly being a role model citizen but like, I never, never, never intended for anybody to ever be hurt like this," said Thrones, who court heard lost his job after he was charged and no longer has contact with his daughters.

Thrones was also banned from having weapons for 10 years, ordered to register as a sex offender for 20 years and given two years of supervised probation after his sentence ends.

For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.