CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A repeat sex offender from Ontario who sexually abused two underage girls while he was visiting P.E.I. last year was sentenced Friday to 18 months in jail.
Kenneth Rolfe, 67, appeared before Justice Nany Key in P.E.I. Supreme Court in Charlottetown for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to one count of sexual interference.
The 18-month sentence was a joint recommendation from the Crown and defence made after the matter was before the courts since Rolfe’s arrest in Nova Scotia on Aug. 6, 2018.
During Friday’s proceedings, Crown attorney John Diamond read from an agreed statement of facts that detailed several incidents involving two victims in the days prior to his arrest.
Diamond told the court Rolfe was in P.E.I. when he committed the offences that included touching one of the girls on her vagina and taking photos as he did.
The girls reported the incidents, the police arrested Rolfe while he was in Nova Scotia and they brought him back to P.E.I.
Diamond told the court Rolfe is a repeat sex offender with two convictions for sexual assault in 1987, one in 1999 and a further conviction for sexual interference in 2011.
Rolfe also breached a prohibition order related to contact with children, and Diamond told the court he had been flagged as a high-risk offender based on his past convictions.
Making the joint recommendation, Diamond said Rolfe’s guilty plea was a major mitigating factor because putting the two children on the stand to testify would have had a “devastating” effect on them and their family.
Defence lawyer Thane MacEachern said Rolfe recognized the impact he had on the victims.
Lots to work on
Rolfe addressed the court before hearing his sentence, saying he did accept responsibility and at no point was he trying to avoid the charge or make excuses for what he did.
He also told the court he has a lot of stuff to work on.
Key responded by saying the victims now have a lot of stuff to work on because of him.
In accepting the joint recommendation, Key said it was an aggravating factor that Rolfe irrevocably changed the victims’ lives and stole their innocence.
With the sentence, Key gave Rolfe credit of 15 months for time spent in custody since his arrest, leaving him with three months still to serve. Rolfe was given credit at a rate of time and a half.
After his release from custody, Rolfe will be on probation for three years, which included a condition he undergo any assessment, counselling or treatment as directed.
That could include treatment for sexual deviancy.
Rolfe must also provide a DNA sample for the national databank, his name will be on the sex offender registry for life and he will be under a lifetime weapons prohibition.
Key also banned Rolfe from attending certain public areas where children younger than 16 could be expected to be found.
He is prohibited from using any computer system to communicate with anyone under the age of 16.
A publication ban prevents the release of any details that could identify the victims.
