CALGARY — A former Saskatchewan Mountie has been sentenced to seven years in prison for molesting three young Calgary boys.
It was the second such conviction for Arnold James Somers, 72, who was jailed for two years in Saskatchewan in the 1990s for similar abuse against boys there.
Court was told Somers was someone the boys and their families trusted, never suspecting he would prey on children.
Two of the children's parents were in court for the sentencing Friday.
One said they were pleased that the judge went with the high end of the Crown's recommendation on sentencing.
Doctors who worked on both cases said in an evaluation that Somers showed little empathy for his victims and didn't seem to understand the gravity of what he had done.
"We basically have figured out now that everything, for the whole time he involved in our family was a lie," said one of the parents.
The parents said they are proud of their boys for speaking up and telling the painful truth and having the courage to put a child predator behind bars.
Somers was given nearly two years credit for time already served; six months of that was because he was beaten at the Calgary Remand Centre and suffered permanent injuries.
(CTV Calgary)
