Victims recall horrifying childhood at hands of abusive parents

WARNING: Some of the details in this story may be disturbing.

Emotional victim impact statements were read into court Tuesday at the sentencing of a couple convicted of tying up, beating, and sexually assaulting their children during their upbringing.

It was all part of the sentencing hearing for a mother and father who were found guilty of a long string of charges in June.

In her statement, one daughter, who is now an adult, said, "My mom and dad were my first bullies my first abusers and the people I needed protection from."

"The relentless physical, psychological, and sexual abuse I experienced and endured from my parents has given me complex PTSD, anxiety, and depression... I live in chronic pain," she added.

"I still live in fear that they will come after me again," another daughter said. "I never had an example of a good parent."

A third daughter asked the court to put the couple away for a long time, "Please, I just want to feel safe."

A son, who also testified during the trial about living through the abuse, did not submit a statement.

During the lengthy trial last spring, the court heard how the children were subjected to brutal sexual acts with each parent, which included tying them up for days.

There was also testimony about the children being beaten and confined when the parents deemed their actions to be inappropriate.

At the end of the trial, the mother and father were found guilty of a long list of charges, including sexual assault, confinement, incest, and failing to provide the necessaries of life.

The mother was convicted on 18 of 36 charges and the father was found guilty on 15 of 36 charges.

The couple, who are in their 50s, cannot be identified along with the victims. The incidents took place over an 18-year period between 2002 and 2020.

When talking about the torture and the torment the children endured for years during their upbringing, Crown Attorney Jennifer Moser said, "These are cases that demand the harshest penalties."

She added, "Our children must be protected and when they are not, when they are violated in the worst of ways, the punishment will reflect the crime."

Moser then asked Justice Thomas Heeney for very lengthy prison terms for the parents requesting that the mother serve 25 years and the father serve thirty.

On the other hand, when the defence addressed the court, the lawyers asked for a 10-year prison term for the mother and 19-and-a-half years for the father.

Justice Heeney is expected to hand down his decision on the case on Nov. 4.