'I held your secrets for decades': Yukon child abuser sentenced 40 years after crime

After "holding the secret" for decades, a Yukon woman confronted her abuser in Yukon's Supreme Court, leading to a conviction. 

"I thank God I found police who believed my terrible story," said Leslie Cawley, who first spoke to RCMP in 2014 about the abuse she says began when she was seven years old. 

David Couch was in his 20s when he sexually assaulted and abused his niece in Yukon. He was charged with indecent assault and found guilty of crimes committed between 1971 and 1980. On Monday, he was sentenced to 18 months in jail. 

Cawley said the three-year process was difficult, but the verdict feels like a "weight lifted" after all these years.

She said she wants to tell her story in order to encourage others to come forward. The court lifted a publication ban that prohibited identifying her by name. 

'I held your secrets for decades' 

Cawley, who is now in her 50s, spoke before the court and read a victim impact statement Monday, surrounded by relatives and friends. 

She wore a traditional button blanket and beaver-fur headpiece as well as copper and turquoise jewellery, noting this was a symbol of the strength and healing she has found in Indigenous culture.

Cawley said Couch had repeatedly abused her when she was a child. This included taking her to a remote cabin on the Mayo road for sexual abuse. She also said her uncle took pornographic photographs of her as a child. She said the sexual abuse lead to depression, eating disorders and suicide attempts throughout her life.

Couch listened to Cawley's statement keeping his eyes fixed downward. He did not react and his lawyer did not challenge Cawley's description of events.

"I held your secrets for decades, The silence was as heavy as lead as I tried to cope with the guilt and the pain," she said. 

Cawley described the effects of abuse on all aspects of her life. She said at the age of eight she intentionally started to gain weight hoping, in her child's mind, to become "unattractive" to her abuser. 

She said she often worried about what happened to the Polaroid photos taken and said she's never learned the answer. She described a lifetime of pain and stress and even nightmares, which still affect her today. 

Speaking to Couch, she said "I am stripping you naked to the world. I am exposing your evil deeds to the world."

Cawley told the court her uncle pressured her not to say anything when she was a child. She later, "wondered if she was too late" to come forward. 

She told the court she hopes her testimony will inspire others to do the same and "end the cycle of abuse."

'No acceptance of responsibility'

During sentencing, Justice B.L Keyser said Couch had "taken advantage of a vulnerable child," and shown "no acceptance of responsibility."

She added the victim impact statement was a "devastating portrayal of the emotional damage [Cawley] has suffered from being abused as a child."

Couch was granted a chance to speak.

He told the court he had been a good citizen, raised two children, been a minor hockey coach and lived a good life during the last four decades.

He is now retired from having worked in the aviation industry.  

"I have been an honest employee for 48 years," he said, his voice shaking. "This is my first and only legal offence. I am a good person."

At the judge's prompting, Couch then spoke directly to his niece. 

"I'm sorry Leslie for what you've been through. I wish you had talked to me about this. Nobody deserves what you went through," he said. 

Upon hearing this, Cawley rushed out of the courtroom. She could be heard crying and vomiting in an bathroom adjacent the court as relatives comforted her.

Defence had asked for house arrest

Couch's defence lawyer had asked the court for house arrest in Couch's home in Peace River, Alta.

Yukon Crown prosecutor Noel Sinclair said a harsher sentence was deserved and called for three to five years' incarceration.

Sinclair said the sexual assault was extremely serious and required deliberate planning such as taking the girl to a secluded cabin. 

"Conditional arrest for a retired grandfather... It's one thing for a fully-employed individual. But as I understand he's retired. He already spends a [large] amount of time in his home. To what extent would this discomfort him?" 

​The justice agreed that jail time was warranted but opted for a sentence on the low end of the scale, due in part to letters of reference and Couch's lack of a criminal record. 

Cawley and family said "thank you" to the Supreme Court justice upon sentencing, and then left the courtroom in tears.