Alberta's top court has nearly doubled the jail sentence for a man who forced a woman to eat part of her own finger, ruling that the original sentencing judge inappropriately minimized the horror the victim endured.
Appeal Court Ruling
The Alberta Court of Appeal released a decision this week in the case of Stephen Ralph Potts, a northern Alberta man convicted of aggravated assault for a 2022 attack on a woman in the Dene Tha' community of Chateh, formerly known as Assumption. The court increased his prison term from four years to seven years and six months, finding the original sentence was demonstrably unfit.
In its ruling, the appeal court described the attack as an act of 'abject degradation.' Potts repeatedly punched the woman in the face, breaking her jaw and other facial bones. He then forced her to splay her fingers and severed the top joint of her pinky. In a final act of cruelty, he forced her to eat the severed piece of finger. The court noted that the events were so terrorizing that the victim soiled her pants.
Original Sentencing Concerns
Justice G.R. Ambrose of the Alberta Court of Justice in Peace River had originally sentenced Potts to four years, well below the 14-year maximum and the Crown's recommendation of 10 to 12 years. The judge cited the victim's 'hard scrabble life' and her calm demeanor while testifying as reasons for the lenient sentence. He also noted that her victim impact statement had been misplaced, leaving him with insufficient information about the attack's effects. Additionally, he compared the loss of a pinky to his own childhood injury, stating it was not 'life threatening or life altering.'
The appeal court panel found serious flaws with Ambrose's reasoning. It stated that the judge should have adjourned sentencing until the victim impact statement could be located. The panel also criticized the judge for focusing on the victim's criminal record, which it described as a 'character assassination.'
Victim Impact
After Potts was convicted, the woman submitted a victim impact statement in which she wrote that she would 'never be the same.' She required metal plates in her face, which now make it difficult to eat solid food. She also drew a broken heart, a crying face, and a face with 'PAIN' written across it, illustrating her emotional trauma.
Potts, who is Indigenous, had three prior assault convictions and a drug trafficking conviction. The court found no evidence of remorse. The attack occurred in April 2022, with no clear motive, though the original judge speculated it was drug-related.
