Man fined for failing to show for sentence

By Delon Shurtz on September 16, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A southern Alberta man who could have gone to jail for failing to show up for an intermittent jail sentence last year, has received hefty fines, instead.
Terry Scott Van Huizen could have been sentenced to a month or more in jail, which is a typical sentence for failing to show up for jail on the weekends, a judge was told Tuesday in Lethbridge provincial court. The Crown, however, recommended fining Van Huizen $2,000 in light of his efforts to address his addictions since his offences last December and January.
Crown Prosecutor Bruce Ainscough said reference letters from two treatment centres indicate Van Huizen has responded well to treatment and programs aimed at helping with the recovery of addicts.
“He has done exemplary,” Ainscough noted. “He is, I’m delighted to say, a real success story.”
Ainscough explained Van Huizen was previously sentenced to an intermittent sentence of 90 days in jail and 18 months probation in relation to a break-in last year. He began his sentence Dec. 11, but he failed to show up Dec. 22, 2020 and again on Jan. 8, 2021.
Van Huizen pleaded guilty to two counts of being unlawfully at large and was fined $1,000 on each charge.
“It is significant…but it is quite a break from a 30 or 45-day sentence that he might otherwise receive,” Ainscough said.

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