Wade Stene, who admitted kidnapping and sexually assaulting an eight-year-old Edmonton girl, was sentenced to 15.5 years behind bars Wednesday afternoon. Judge Susan Richardson handed down the sentence after a two-day hearing. Stene has about 12 years left on his sentence after a judge gave him 1,313 days credit for time served. Stene pleaded guilty earlier this year to pulling the young woman into his vehicle and sexually assaulting her before leaving her behind in March 2020. The girl cannot be named due to a publication ban protecting her identity. Stene’s lawyer Mark Jordan had asked for a 10-year sentence, while Crown prosecutors Keith Nicholls and Ioana Corabian asked the judge for a 20-year sentence. Jordan argued his sentencing recommendation was fair because Stan had a troubled past, no prior criminal record and suffered emotional trauma from protests outside his home while he was released on bail to the victim’s neighborhood in June 2020 . The Crown urged the judge not to consider those factors, in part because Stene’s actions were so serious that his release had a significant impact on the community and the anger that led to protests outside his home was “justifiable and foreseeable”. The Crown also argued that the attack on the child was premeditated, noting that Stene essentially had a “rape kit” in his hands, noting how he was wearing a mask, had duct tape with him and had his seat down and covered with a blanket. On Wednesday, the judge said Stan’s crime was “planned, predatory and brazen”. “Of course he intended that to happen. He did,” Judge Richardson said. “His sexual assault stopped only after his sexual gratification was complete.” In a statement to CTV News, the victim’s family said, in part: “It was hard to hear the final outcome of the sentence imposed. No sentence would have satisfied us, no amount of time will fully heal the damage that has been done.”
