A London couple has been sentenced for a dehumanizing and horrific case of human trafficking in Windsor's near west side.
"It seemed like a sport to them" said Justice Bruce Thomas as he sentenced 26-year-old Jonathan Riley to 12 years in prison and 28-year-old Kailya Schram to 6 years for repeatedly beating a woman they kept in a tent in the backyard.
When the couple was arrested in May 2016 on Laing Avenue near McEwan, the woman was found in the tent which was covered in blood and urine.
Before being arrested, they also lived on Cameron St., Martindale and an apartment on Ouellette Ave.
The court heard from January 2015 to May 2016, the couple treated the woman like their slave with daily beatings, she was hit with steel toe boots like she was a football, she was hit with a shovel and shot with a bb gun.
They would also take her disability cheque and force her to panhandle for money.
The three met at a soup kitchen.
When she was found, the woman had suffered multiple fractures, broken ribs, a collapsed lung, bruising to her face and neck and cigarette burns.
"It is one of the more horrendous cases I have ever done," says Schram's lawyer Daniel Topp. "Unfortunately the human tragedy that happened during this case actually leaves me speechless."
The court heard the victim, whose name is protected under a publication ban, "took it each time and didn't put up a fight."
Riley's lawyer Brian Dube says it was the proper sentence.
"Ultimately ended up being a significant sentence but a fair sentence given all the circumstances."
The couple pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, forcible confinement, human trafficking and assault causing bodily harm. Riley also pleaded guilty to causing an injury to an animal.
Assistant Crown Jonathan Lall says it was a dehumanizing case.
"The word slave came up from multiple witnesses, they used that word and they are repeating the words of both Riley and Schram, " said Lall. "Slave is an apt term but one of the things that Justice Thomas said in his decision is that you couldn't even treat an animal this way and that's an apt way to put it."
In her victim impact statement, the victim said she remembers waking up in the hospital and her whole body was in pain. She also questioned why she lived but doesn't remember the details of the abuse she suffered. As a result of her injuries, the victim uses a walker.
Before accepting the joint submission, Justice Thomas turned to the victim in court and said that no sentence is comparable to what she has gone through.
"I hope this gives you some peace of mind and closure," said Justice Thomas.
He called Riley and Schram's actions "despicable" and wondered how much longer the victim would have survived.
Before being sentenced, both Schram and Riley said they were sorry.
Assistant Crown Jonathan Lall on the case of a couple treating a woman as a "slave" in Windsor in a human trafficking case. @AM800News pic.twitter.com/vlzOGVWxxn
— Teresinha Medeiros (@tmedeiros800) November 3, 2017