CALEB NICKERSON

CAMPBELL’S BAY

Sept. 24, 2019

On Tuesday, a Gatineau man was sentenced to two years in prison, plus three years probation for a violent home invasion that took . . .

place in Sand Bay back in July.

Daniel Chartrand, 45, appeared in the Campbell’s Bay courthouse Tuesday morning for what was originally planned to be his pre-trial hearing. Instead, the prosecution and defence came to an agreement that would see him plead guilty to three of the seven charges laid against him: breaking and entering and one count each of assault causing bodily harm on his former partner Sacha Issajenko and the owner of the home, Darlene Allen, thus avoiding a trial.

Friends and family of Issajenko, Chartrand and Allen were present on opposite sections of the courtroom. Chartrand stood stoic and alert in the prisoner’s box, speaking firmly when addressed by judge Anouk Desaulniers.

He pled guilty to each charge, before crown prosecutor Simon Pelletier read the statement of facts to the court.

At around 2:10 a.m., Chartrand entered Allen’s home on chemin Hobbs in Sand Bay through an unlocked door. The occupants of the house were asleep, and Chartrand first encountered Allen, asking where Issajenko was. Issajenko is currently dating Allen’s son Troy.

Chartrand then proceeded to THE room where Issajenko was sleeping, along with the former couple’s two-year-old daughter. He jumped on Issajenko and punched her repeatedly in the face, also using a knife to puncture the air mattress she was sleeping on.

“It’s hard to say how many punches were delivered, but they were numerous,” Pelletier said, detailing some of Issajenko’s injuries, which included a concussion, broken bones in her face and four 2-3 cm lacerations that required stitches.

Allen called the police and Chartrand grabbed her by the arm. In the ensuing struggle, he gave her a 6 cm cut on the arm that required stitches. After that, he grabbed Issajenko by the hair and dragged her towards his vehicle.

It’s unclear how, but Issajenko managed to escape. Chartrand turned himself in to police ten days later.

When The Equity first reported on the story on Sept. 4, Issajenko alleged that Chartrand had used a taser in addition to the knife. Pelletier said that only the knife was recovered and it was the only weapon mentioned in the statement of facts.

The judge told Chartrand that though the prosecution and defence had come to an agreement, she had the power to override it if she felt it was against the public interest and asked him if he still wanted to plead guilty. He responded affirmatively.

Pelletier presented photos of the injuries to Allen and Issajenko, which the judge had sealed due to their graphic nature. He also submitted Chartrand’s criminal record, which he noted had no previous violent offences.

He said he and defence attorney Mélina Cham had agreed to 27 months imprisonment, minus Chartrand’s three months already spent in custody, plus an additional three years probation, where he is prohibited from contacting the victims or coming within 500 m of either of their residences. He also would be banned from owning or shooting any firearms or other weapons for 10 years and would have to submit a DNA sample.

Issajenko then proceeded to the front of the courtroom, where she faced Chartrand directly and delivered her victim impact statement. She detailed the physical and emotional trauma she still suffers from the attack, saying she lives “on pins and needles” and fears for her life. She said she has memory problems and has lost her joy for life.

“Mostly I’m scared for my daughter and what complications this will have on her psychological health,” she said.

Allen did not provide a victim impact statement and declined to comment to The Equity.

Judge Desaulniers said she would uphold the agreement, but said that she did not take Chartrand’s actions lightly.

“This joint submission is very lenient, given the seriousness of what you have done,” she said. “You could have easily faced a much longer jail period.”

“You committed bodily wounds that are among the most severe, striking, that I have seen in 29 years of practicing criminal law,” she continued. “Given the blows that you were giving her, she had every reason to fear for her life.”

After the proceedings Chartrand’s former partner Amanda Lalonde and his niece Amanda Chartrand spoke to The Equity about the outcome. They said Chartrand didn’t have a history of violence and said his actions didn’t represent the person he was to them, or their children.

“I’m not saying it’s ok what he did, because it’s not,” Lalonde said, “It’s definitely not, but it’s not ok either for people to trash him like as if he was a violent offender all his life, because he wasn’t … He’s not getting a fair representation on this.”

Issajenko had a police escort to and from the courthouse and said in a phone interview after the proceedings that she wasn’t happy with the result.

“It’s not a lot of time for beating two women,” she said. “It lets these abusers know it’s ok to hit [their] wife, because [they’re] not going to get any time.”