Daily BrewDustin Paxton declared ‘dangerous offender’ for gruesome and extended assault on roommate
A Calgary man who has been convicted of beating and torturing his former roommate and business partner for 18 months, leaving him deformed a brain damaged, has been declared a dangerous offender, keeping him behind bars indefinitely.
Dustin Paxton was found guilty last year of aggravated and sexual assault against in a shocking series of attacks that played out over the course of a bizarre two-year relationship.
According to the Calgary Herald's Daryl Slade, Justice Sheilah Martin declared Paxton a dangerous offender on Thursday, stating that the court could not gamble with public safety by allowing him to leave prison.
Judge says Dustin Paxton difficult to treat, constitutes threat to life, safety, mental we'll being of others.
— Daryl Slade (@heraldcourt) December 19, 2013
Dustin Paxton continues to appear to be taking judge's declaration of him as dangerous offender as a joke. Continual smirks as she reads. — Daryl Slade (@heraldcourt) December 19, 2013
The Canadian Press has also reported Paxton received dangerous offender status.
Paxton's conviction stems from a gruesome series of events that left his friend and former roommate, whose identity is protected by a court order, suffering from a cracked skull, ruptured bowels, a speech impediment, brain damage, post-traumatic stress disorder and a disfigured face.
The horror began in 2008, when the victim moved from Winnipeg to Calgary to live with Paxton and start a business together. The abuse began almost immediately and increased to the point that the victim was taken to the hospital several times, with both himself and Paxton making excuses about how he suffered his injuries.
It ended only after he was dropped at a Regina hospital nearly two years later, disfigured and weighing about 87 lbs.
"I think I received a brain injury really early, and I think that one of the decision-making centres in my brain was damaged," the victim previously said to explain why he did not try to escape the abuse. "Once that was all damaged, I wasn't making rational choices."
Paxton's punishment had remained undetermined until today, as the courts considered whether he should be treated as a dangerous offender.
The determination means Paxton will remain in prison indefinitely.
According to the Government of Canada:
Unless the court finds that a less severe measure will adequately protect the public, a dangerous offender designation will result in an indeterminate prison sentence.Thus, no statutory release date is set.
Dangerous offenders are eligible for day parole after four years of imprisonment, and ordinary parole after seven. They are, however, monitored for the rest of their lives. "If they continue to present an unacceptable risk for society, they will stay in prison for life."
Other famous Canadian criminals designated as dangerous offenders include Paul Bernardo, Gary Walker, dubbed Canada’s worst pedophile, and Johnson Aziga, the first person to be convicted in Canada of first-degree murder for spreading HIV.
The victim's family has calling for Paxton to receive the rare status. They have also called for Paxton to be charged with torture, an offence currently held for police officers, public officers and members of the military.
