CONVICTED child sex offender Michael Berry will live the remaining weeks of his life confined either to his home or a hospital bed, but wont go to jail, a B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled.
Justice Paul Williamson handed Berry a former West Vancouver acting coach and Capilano College instructor a conditional sentence Tuesday of two years less a day to be served under house arrest in his dying days.
Berry, 73, is terminally ill with esophageal cancer and is in palliative care. Doctors told the court they are surprised hes still alive.
Berry was not present at the sentencing.
Williamson said if it wasnt for Berrys medical prognosis, he would have handed him a seven-year jail sentence.
Crown counsel Elliot Poll had asked for a sentence of between eight and nine years, but acknowledged its unlikely Berry would live long enough for corrections staff to even determine where he should be jailed.
Im not sure anythings served by putting someone in his condition in prison, Poll said outside the court.
Berry was convicted a year ago of child sexual abuse against five girls in incidents dating back more than 30 years.
Most of Berry's victims were between 10 and 13 at the time he had sex with them.
The girls came from deprived backgrounds and many were promised gifts and money in exchange for sex.
Berry admitted to police that he'd had sex with several young teenaged girls over a number of years at his home and that he had taken photographs and videotaped sexual sessions with several of the girls.
Berry was arrested seven years ago, after a U.S. investigation into child pornography led police to search his Bay Street home in Horseshoe Bay.
There have been numerous delays in the case: first because Berry repeatedly fired his lawyers, then later because of his failing health.
In a letter to the North Shore News after a sentencing delay in January, one of Berrys victims voiced frustration at Berrys ability to stall the court process. It just goes to show you that if you are smart enough, have enough money and act well enough you can still direct the play for years, right up until you are behind bars and/or on your death bed, as Mr. Berry has done, she wrote.
She added that she was disappointed that the judge had let compassion for Berry get in the way of timely justice for his victims.
Berrys victims had mixed reactions to the sentence on Tuesday, said Kay MacIntosh, a victim services worker.
One victim was sad at the thought of Berrys impending death, while another was furious that he eluded jail, MacIntosh said.
Most were happy to hear he would have gone to jail for seven years if he wasnt dying, she said.
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