A correctional officer who extracted a central Newfoundland inmate’s tooth during oral surgery in October 2020 has been granted an absolute discharge.
Ron McDonald had escorted an inmate to Louis Bourget’s dental clinic in Gander for a procedure. While the inmate was sedated, Bourget explained the procedure to McDonald and another officer, and then suggested they perform the extraction of the four teeth.
McDonald took him up on the offer. He was later charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon; the former charge was dropped, while the latter was downgraded to a single count of assault, to which McDonald pleaded guilty.
At his sentencing in Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court in Gander on Friday, Justice Melanie Del Rizzo granted McDonald an absolute discharge on his conviction.
He was also ordered to pay a $200 victim surcharge within 30 days.
In her decision, Del Rizzo noted McDonald did not ask to remove the teeth of inmate Blair Harris but was offered that opportunity by the surgeon.
She went over several items in Harris’s victim impact statement, which said he has suffered extreme social anxiety since the assault, has had to seek counselling and is unable to work.
He was under heavy sedation at the time of the incident.
McDonald, 47, had been a corrections officer for 10 years. He was fired as a result of the charge and now works in the fishery and as a truck driver.
He had no prior criminal record and was deemed low risk to reoffend, said the judge.
The Crown asked for a 30-day sentence with no probation, but the bench sided with McDonald’s counsel, who asked for the absolute discharge.
Del Rizzo acknowledged McDonald had been in a position of trust and had been given the responsibility of protecting the inmate in his position as a correctional officer.
She also noted McDonald had statements of support as to his good character and has shown remorse for the incident, with no previous convictions. She also acknowledged the high visibility of the case in the media was taken into account in her decision.
She said McDonald has “already suffered extreme repercussions” and therefore will not have a criminal record and is not on probation.
During his own sentencing hearing, Bourget said he “got caught up in a teaching moment” but regretted the decision to offer McDonald the chance to extract teeth after the procedure.
Bourget also received an absolute discharge in April.
McDonald has asked the court if he can speak to the victim directly to offer an apology, something Del Rizzo said she would consider.
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