135 days in jail for man guilty of publishing nude photo of ex
By Jeremy Appel on September 7, 2018.
jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel
A man who pled guilty to publishing an indecent picture of his ex-girlfriend without her permission and assaulting her, as well as causing mischief and failing to stop at the scene of an accident from a separate incident, received a 135-day jail sentence and $1,500 in fines.
Justin Kleinsasser, who has the word “Grace” tattooed on his neck, appeared at Medicine Hat Provincial Court in person Thursday.
With 75 days in jail served already, Kleinsasser will serve the remaining 60 intermittently on weekends, beginning Sept. 15. He will have six months to pay the fines.
According to a joint submission of facts, on July 14, 2015, the victim found nude photos on the accused’s cellphone, which had been uploaded to a sexual website without her permission.
The week prior — on July 5 — Kleinsasser and the victim got into an altercation near the front door of their residence in Lethbridge.
He pulled her outside by her shoulder in her underwear and locked the door.
After repeated knocking, Kleinsasser let her back in. She had bruises on her left upper arm and shoulder areas.
Defence lawyer Lyndon Heidinger said the victim was twice Kleinsasser’s age and introduced him to drugs, namely crack and cocaine.
“He obviously didn’t handle that well,” said Heidinger.
On Dec. 11, 2015, Kleinsasser called the Fort Macleod RCMP to report a stolen vehicle, a 2010 Dodge Ram 1500.
“That was a false stolen vehicle he called in,” said the Crown prosecutor.
The accused was in the truck he reported stolen, which he drove into a field.
He failed to appear in court on July 26 and 27, 2016.
Kleinsasser also pled guilty to an attempt to escape custody after police escorted him to the hospital on Nov. 23, 2017, and he attempted to escape from the waiting room.
His only prior criminal record is for failure to attend court, for which he received five days in jail.
Kleinsasser was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the publishing indecent material and assault charges, 30 days for the mischief charge, 15 days for the attempt to escape custody, an $1,000 fine for refusing to stop at the scene of an accident and $250 for each failure to appear in court.
In addition to the jail time and fines, Kleinsasser is prohibited from going within two blocks of his ex-girlfriend’s residence and is prohibited from using the Internet, except for a GPS to get to and from work.
