*Warning: this story contains elements that some may find triggering.
*Editor's note: A publication ban covers any information that might identify the victims in this case, including many details of the incidents themselves.
Twice convicted of sexual assaults and other sex-related crimes in recent months, a Palmerston man might not see the inside of a jail cell.
During sentencing submissions on Thursday for his most recent conviction – three counts of sexual assault – the defence attorney for Michael Hurst asked a judge to consider a suspended sentence and probation for the repeat offender, while the Crown is seeking 12 to 15 months behind bars.
Justice Cynthia Petersen will deliver the sentence Nov. 15.
Much of the evidence presented in the case is covered by a publication ban aimed at protecting the identities of Hurst’s victims.
“Before the assaults, I was a cheerful person. I was thriving as well as any single mom could do in the circumstances. Who I have become since … is a completely different woman,” one of Hurst’s more recent victims told the court via a victim impact statement read aloud.
“I have developed difficult trust issues, especially with males. I’m guarded when an unknown-to-me male speaks to me. I panic when I’m in a situation where I’m alone with them.
“It makes me feel the same freeze-like (sensation) that I did when Michael assaulted me.”
Hurst was convicted last month of three counts of sexual assault related to the unwanted touching of women’s buttocks and breasts following a week-long trial held in Guelph. The assaults happened between 2017 and 2020, mostly in Wellington North.
He was acquitted of two additional counts alleged to have involved oral sex and intercourse.
Months earlier, Hurst was convicted two counts of sexual assault and three counts of committing an indecent act for offences dating back more than 20 years. For those crimes he was sentenced to two years less a day of house arrest and three years of probation.
“There was a predatory aspect to the offences,” assistant Crown attorney Peter Keen told the court on Thursday in relation to the more recent conviction. “This is part of his character.”
During the trial, Hurst testified he believed the women had flirted with him by smiling and brushing up against him. That led him to believe he had their consent to touch them sexually.
“My client has taken very serious steps to understand himself, understand his behaviour,” added defence attorney Mary Murphy, noting Hurst is on medication for anxiety and has been receiving therapy since being charged. “He has clearly learned from this experience … that this is simply something that is not acceptable.”
Murphy asked the judge to impose a sentence ranging between a suspended sentence and 90 days in custody, with consideration of allowing Hurst to serve those days intermittently if a jail term is imposed.
In support of that request, she presented the court with a variety of character reference letters, including from Hurst’s current employer, his counsellor and a neighbour. She further noted he has not violated the terms of his house arrest for his earlier conviction.
Keen suggested a “real jail” sentence is appropriate given Hurst’s previous crimes, the fact there were two victims involved in the more recent ones, and that one of the counts covers multiple alleged assaults (the conviction confirms at least one of them occurred).
As for the letters of reference, Keen noted, “(Hurst) was able to commit the offences because people thought highly of him.”