A Vernon man was sentenced Friday to five years in jail for a vicious, unprovoked assault on a 58-year-old woman.
Justice Alan Ross sentenced Robert Kingswood in Vernon Supreme Court following submissions from Crown counsel Margaret Cissell and defence lawyer Courtenay Simmons.
In October 2021, Kingswood encountered the victim outside East Side Liquor Store.
It was the first time either had met, and surveillance showed the two talking in front of the store.
Ross pointed out they spent two hours in front of the store and at one point the pair briefly danced and the victim, who used a mobility scooter to get around, even hugged Kingswood.
The next piece of video showed Kingswood grab the victim with his right hand before delivering 13 blows with his left hand, several with a closed fist.
Kingswood then grabbed the woman's hair as she fell to the sidewalk.
Kingswood, who stands five feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 287 pounds, then stomped on the victim's head six times, falling twice during the attack.
He then walked away, leaving the victim on the sidewalk.
While the video was being played in court, Kingswood covered his face with his hands.
Ross said the attack was “brutal and in many ways incomprehensible.”
The judge called the attack “very deliberate” noting Kingswood fell to the sidewalk twice while stomping on his victim, but stood up again both times and continued the attack.
“By any account, the attack was extremely violent,” Ross said during sentencing.
Ross noted that Kingswood showed “shock and remorse” when seeing the video for himself.
Cissell said the victim received a traumatic brain injury during the assault as well as nasal bone fractures, a fractured jaw, two broken ribs, facial lacerations and other injuries. She spent several days in hospital.
Reading a victim-impact statement, Cissell said the incident has changed the woman's life. She said the victim is afraid to go outside for fear of another random attack.
The woman also struggles with anxiety, cannot go shopping alone, and has problems with her memory.
Kingswood was arrested the morning after the attack, but had no memory of the assault. When he saw blood on his clothes, he thought he was assaulted and was going to speak with police.
Simmons pointed out Kingswood, now 46, has no criminal record and showed remorse for his actions from the day he was arrested.
Kingswood also deals with mental health issues and is taking anti-depressant and anti-psychotic medication. He was also seeing a psychiatrist at the time of the attack.
Simmons said the incident has had a profound impact on Kingswood and his family, and he is still “trying to come to terms with what he had done.”
Ross said the victim “has been affected mentally and physically. Her injuries are permanent.... She was the definition of vulnerable.”
The parties agreed to a joint submission of five years incarceration.
Vernon man sentenced for brutal, unprovoked attack on 58-year-old womanA charge of attempted murder against Kingswood was stayed.
