Earlier story
Man gets five-year jail term for sex assaults decades ago in Newfoundland and Labrador
A man who sexually abused four children decades ago has been sentenced to a five-year jail term.
Reg O'Keefe was handed the sentence today by Justice Garrett Handrigan at Newfoundland Supreme Court in St. John's.
The 70-year-old O'Keefe was credited 117 days for the time he's already served in custody, leaving about four years and eights on his term.
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The sexual assaults happened in two locations in the province — one in Labrador and the other on the island — over three decades, the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, when they were between the ages of six and 10.
Following a trial in September, O’Keefe was found guilty of six counts of indecent assault, as it was called in the Criminal Code decades ago.
The victims - who now live outside the province in various parts of North America - flew to St. John's to present their victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing a few weeks ago.
After proceedings today, Crown prosecutor Dana Sullivan hugged a woman who was sat in the back of the courtroom. The woman is the mother of the young girl who was sexually assaulted by O'Keefe in 2005, when the girl was three years old. O'Keefe was sentenced to a year in jail in that case.
"It's a happy day," said the woman, who attended the sentencing hearing to support the four women in the recent case and immediately texted them today after the judge rendered his decision.
She said she's glad O'Keefe will be locked up for a long time. She said everyone can now move on.
"Today is closure for us," the woman said. "He's going away he's not going to hurt anybody else after today. It's done. It's over."
rmullaly@thetelegram.com
Twitter: TelyCourt
