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A Calgary judge has set aside an absolute discharge in a sexual assault case where a permanent Canadian resident argued he could face immigration consequences for a conviction.

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Haagen Sagli pleaded guilty to the May 12, 2024, sexual assault of a woman he met at a bar. The Norwegian citizen has been living here since he was 16, and his lawyer argued a conviction could lead to his deportation.

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The Crown successfully appealed Sagli’s discharge, which meant he would not have a criminal record. Instead, Justice Lisa Silver of Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench gave him a 30-day conditional sentence.

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“I find that Mr. Sagli’s circumstances present several mitigating features, including his previously unblemished record, positive personal background, guilty plea, substantial rehabilitative efforts, and the serious immigration consequences that could flow from a conviction,” Silver wrote in a recent decision.

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“Considered cumulatively, those factors significantly reduce the need for specific deterrence and (support) a rehabilitative sentencing response. However, they do not alter the gravity of the offence or Mr. Sagli’s degree of responsibility for it. Nor do these circumstances change the governing principles for sexual assault that include denunciation, deterrence, and proportionality.”

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Sagli, who was 32 at the time of the sexual assault, holds a master’s degree in finance from McGill University and has worked in the oil business.

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“Because Mr. Sagli was a permanent resident only, a criminal conviction would likely result in immigration proceedings that could lead to his removal from Canada,” Silver said.

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“Any removal decision, however, would be subject to further review processes in which his personal circumstances would be considered.”

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The Crown refused to answer questions about whether Sagli could face deportation due to his new sentence. Sagli’s lawyer did not respond by press time.

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In the appeal, the Crown recommended Sagli get a conditional sentence of six months less a day, considering “the severe effect a six-month conditional sentence would have on Mr. Sagli’s immigration status.”

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A permanent resident “is inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality” if they get sentenced to more than six months, according to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

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They can also be deemed inadmissible if convicted of an offence “punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years,” according to the Act.

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In Canada, the maximum sentence for sexual assault is a decade when it’s an indictable offence. But when it’s a summary conviction such as Sagli’s, the maximum sentence drops to 18 months.

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Sagli’s lawyer argued unsuccessfully that “a discharge is in the public interest to keep Mr. Sagli, a productive member of the community, from expulsion from Canada and it enhances the public interest by recognizing Mr. Sagli’s voluntary rehabilitative efforts and guilty plea.”