Susan Clairmont: Violent offender out of jail for just two days before brutal attack on woman on Westdale trail

The trail was her sanctuary. Her place of peace.

She was out walking, in the afternoon. Alone.

His attack on her was so violent, so life-changing that the judge doubled the defence and Crown's suggested sentence.

This attack happened a year ago, and the case just finished in court recently. Since that incident, there have been at least seven other assaults, sexual assaults and indecent acts targeting women on our city's trails.

Justice Michael Wendl of the Ontario Court of Justice understands that the harm done to a woman attacked while enjoying a simple walk goes far beyond any physical injuries. It can be a monumental turning point, causing a woman to be deprived of life's simple pleasures because of fear.

Tony Gordon is a violent, drug-addicted offender who was out of jail just two days when he randomly attacked a woman on a wooded trail on Sept. 30, 2021.

A female student was taking a late afternoon stroll alone on picturesque Caleb's Walk, a wooded Westdale trail midway between Churchill Park and McMaster University near Cootes Paradise.

The trail was a sanctuary and a place of peace for her," Wendl wrote in his reasons for judgment released Sept. 22.

Gordon admitted to attacking her from behind.

He threw her to the ground, punched her in the head and choked her. She went in and out of consciousness," the judge wrote.

Her throat was cut and bleeding, she had large blood clots and bruising on her head and a swollen jaw, along with numerous other abrasions and bruises.

A Good Samaritan" came to her rescue and Gordon fled.

Gordon did not know the woman and the attack was random.

Gordon had been released from custody just two days earlier. He had 55 prior convictions that included sexual assaults, assaulting a peace officer and 20 breaches of court orders. When he was arrested on Oct. 4, 2021, he had more than 11 grams of methamphetamine on him.

He pleaded guilty to choking while committing an assault and breach of probation.

The victim told the court she has nightmares and flashbacks of the attack and the feelings of panic and fear are still very real to her."

She is prescribed medication to help with depression, anxiety and insomnia.

Now I'm scared of going even near Cootes or any slightly more wooded area at all," she told the court, and I have not been on a walk alone since."

She has been robbed of the joy of going for a simple walk," Wendl wrote.

Her academic performance has suffered, and the woman says had it not been for the support of her loved ones, therapist and physicians, the trauma would have derailed her career goals."

She lives in constant fear that Gordon will come back.

Usually, when the Crown and defence make a joint submission on sentencing, a judge accepts it as the most appropriate option.

But in the case of Gordon, his brutal and random attack, criminal history, disregard for court orders and unwillingness to seek treatment led Wendl to reject the 18-month joint submission.

It brings the administration of justice into disrepute and is otherwise contrary to the public interest," he wrote.

Instead, Wendl imposed a total sentence of three years less a day.

Sentencing is a complicated balancing act. Wendl's reasons provide insight into the many factors a judge grapples with.

Gordon is Anishinaabe from Lac Seuil First Nation. Which means his circumstances as an Indigenous offender must be outlined in a Gladue Report and considered by the judge.

Gordon's grandparents went to residential school and his parents had substance abuse issues.

Gordon began using marijuana at 10. By 12 or 13 he was smoking it regularly. His habit escalated to cocaine at 15, and heroin. He says he was drinking daily by 14.

Now, according to Gordon's grandfather who raised him, his main problem is the use of meth."

The judge agreed.

Yet, when asked if he would consider treatment for his addictions, Gordon said: You know what? If I wanted to do treatment, it was something I would've already done. I feel like treatment is something that's not helpful for me."

He did concede he could benefit from psychiatric care. While at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre, he has taken medication for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, depression and a sleep disorder.

A psychiatrist could give me advice and wisdom," Gordon said.

The judge however noted Gordon failed to show any awareness of the consequences of his actions or any insight into his behaviour."

Wendl, also taking into account Gordon's guilty pleas, ultimately had to arrive at a sentence that reflected the legal principles of denunciation and deterrence.

Given the risk to reoffend, the lack of insight into his behaviour, the flagrant nature of the breach and the unrelenting record since 2008, I must impose a high penalty," the judge wrote.

However, a three year less a day sentence doesn't mean three years behind bars.

From that, the judge subtracted Gordon's pre-sentence custody time at a rate of 1.5 days credit for each day incarcerated, for a total of 17 months and 20 days.

That leaves the remaining sentence of 18 months and nine days.

Then Gordon will be out again.

Susan Clairmont is a justice columnist at The Spectator. sclairmont@thespec.com