Man avoids jail for sexual assault

A Charlottetown man who sexually touched a woman while she slept has avoided a jail sentence.

Bradley Thomas Dyke, 21, appeared in provincial court in Charlottetown on June 28 and was sentenced by Chief Judge Jeff Lantz to two years of probation and a conditional discharge for the sexual assault. Dyke was also ordered to provide a sample of his DNA to the national databank and pay a $100 victim surcharge. Dyke is not allowed to have any contact with the victim during the probation period.

Dyke initially pleaded not guilty, and a trial date was set. But on May 3, he decided not to proceed with a trial and pleaded guilty to the charge.

The sentence was a joint recommendation from Crown attorney John Diamond and Dyke's lawyer, Conor Mullin.

According to facts previously read in court, the woman went to Dyke's residence on Nov. 13 at around 11 p.m. Dyke and the woman were friends. At his residence, they smoked cannabis and stayed up watching television into the early morning hours of Nov. 14. At one point, they began consensual kissing and went into his bedroom.

Both Dyke and the woman were fully clothed in bed and continued the consensual kissing and sexual touching. The woman fell asleep. When she woke up at around 7:30 a.m., Dyke was still sexually touching her. She told Dyke to stop, and he did so. Dyke apologized and told her that he believed she was awake during the sexual touching.

The woman was picked up by a family member at Dyke's residence, and later that day, she reported the incident to Charlottetown police. After an investigation, Dyke was arrested on Nov. 18 for sexual assault. It was noted in court on May 3 that Dyke accepted that he didn't take reasonable steps to obtain ongoing consent from the woman for the sexual touching.

At sentencing, Lantz asked how long the woman was asleep. "Approximately an hour," replied Diamond.

It was also noted by Diamond and Mullin that if the matter had gone to trial, it could have been reasonably argued that Dyke had an honest but mistaken belief that he had consent.

Even so, Diamond said the victim was relieved that the matter was not proceeding to a trial, which would have "traumatized (her) even more”. She was also aware of how the matter was being resolved, he said.

A pre-sentence report had been prepared to provide the court with background information on Dyke to assist with sentencing. Mullin described the report as "overwhelmingly very positive”.

He added that Dyke's mental health issues probably contributed to the sexual assault matter before the court. Dyke has taken steps to deal with those mental health issues, said Mullin.

Dyke's mother was in the courtroom for sentencing. He did not have a prior criminal record.