'Got off with a slap': Former Saskatchewan care home worker sentenced for sexual assault

Some readers may find details of this story troubling.

A former care home worker who admitted to sexually abusing five adults with disabilities will spend six-and-a-half years at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary.

Brent Gabona, 54, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual exploitation while working at Shepherd's Villa in Hepburn, Sask. — a care facility for people living with disabilities.

Judge Bruce Bauer handed down the prison sentence on Wednesday in Rosthern, Sask. — decades after the crimes took place.

Bauer said Gabona was in a position of power and families trusted their loved one would be safe in his care.

"Trust that their vulnerable family members will be safe in someone else's care has been eroded and replaced with fear," Bauer said.

While reading the facts of the case, the judge said Gabona "groomed the victims to feel comfortable with his penis during bathing and showering time."

He exposed his penis multiple times to his victims, before pressing it against their bodies.

Court heard Gabona chose non-verbal victims — two women and three men — because of their inability to report his actions.

"This is a very unique case. Nineteen years after the offences were committed, the accused went to the police and confessed, opening an investigation that would otherwise have never been opened," Bauer said.

Gabona's lawyer, Jordan Durant, says his client's confession is a "huge sign of remorse."

Durant is applauding the six-and-a-half-year sentence.

"We thought it was appropriate, that's exactly what we asked for," the defence lawyer said.

Al and Naomi Hawkins believe their deceased son, Derek, was a victim of Gabona. He provided care for Derek at Shepherd’s Villa from 2003 to 2005.

The Hawkins are disappointed with Gabona's prison sentence.

"Brent Gabona got off with a slap," Al told reporters.

"He's ruined how many lives, and he gets 78 months? Seriously?" Naomi added.

The judge said Gabona received multiple letters of support — including from friends and his pastor.

Gabona was hired at Shepherd's Villa in 1992, by his mother, months after pleading guilty to a sexual offence against a minor.

Gabona freely walked through the front doors of the Lion's Community Hall, used as a provincial courtroom, to learn his fate.

He left from the back door in handcuffs.