Allen Corcoran was found guilty in March on seven of eight counts that included sexual assault of a minor.
A Belle River man convicted of sexually assaulting three minors who had been babysitters for his children was sentenced to six years in prison on Thursday.
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Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia said Allen Corcoran, 48, warranted a sentence that reflected “society’s abhorrence” towards offences that involve “the sexual violation of children.”
But the sentence should not be “too long or harsh,” the judge added Thursday, in handing a sentence below the Crown’s request for eight to 10 years of prison. The defence had sought a prison sentence of 36 to 42 months.
“Where incarceration is required . . . the principle of restraint dictates that the sentence imposed not be longer than is necessary to achieve other sentencing goals such as denunciation and deterrence,” Justice Carroccia said.
Corcoran was found guilty in March on seven of eight counts that included sexual assault of a minor, indecent exposure and inviting sexual touching following a judge-alone trial.
The victims were between the ages of 12 and 15 at the time of the offences in 2017 and 2018 and had been hired as babysitters for Corcoran’s children, the court heard. Their identities are protected by a court-ordered publication ban.
Some of the victims had been sexually assaulted on several occasions over a period of two years either at Corcoran’s home in Belle River or in his truck while driving the girls home after babysitting, the judge found.
On one occasion, Corcoran came up behind one babysitter, 12 years old at the time, and grabbed her breasts while she was changing the diapers of one of his children. On other occasions, Corcoran would follow the babysitter around from room to room in his house while he masturbated, the judge said in March.
In another incident, Corcoran was driving the babysitter home when the victim noticed that he “was playing with his penis or masturbating and was trying to get her to touch it.”
According to the victim, Corcoran “took his hands off the steering wheel and threatened to crash the car” while trying to grab the victim’s hand, Justice Carroccia said.
Corcoran was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police and charged in 2022.
“He took advantage of a position of trust and authority in relation to young girls who were in his home to help care for his children,” Justice Carroccia said Thursday. “The contact was not isolated. It was repeated against a number of girls who were in a vulnerable and dependent position.”
