Man awaits punishment for chilling knife attack against woman in Bowser

She required chest and lung surgery due to the perplexing early morning incident.

The victim’s distraught mother was in court to read a portion of her victim impact statement.

“Our family has fallen apart physically, emotionally, psychologically and financially. There will always be pain. We’ve been hungry, we’ve been homeless and suffering, there has been no joy.”

She said her daughter lost her job, her strength and her pain will “never go away.”

The mother’s husband also found himself unemployed as a result of the life-changing event.

NanaimoNewsNOW isn’t identifying the mother to protect the victim, whose name falls under a court-ordered publication ban.

Judge Justine Saunders asked the victim’s mother how she realized her daughter was attacked.

“I got a phone call at 6:15 it said ‘Mommy, Mommy come quick I’m at Tomm’s I think I’m dying, Chase stabbed me’”.

Clegg’s lawyer Chris Churchill cited a Gladue report, which factored in Clegg’s aboriginal heritage and how it related to his behaviour.

“An unstable childhood and adolescence impacted by family instability, mental illness, abandonment, resentment and normalization of addiction.”

Clegg’s father, of aboriginal heritage, took off when Clegg was five-months old and didn’t support the family.

The Gladue report said Clegg turned to alcohol and marijuana as coping mechanisms.

Churchill said in the weeks prior to the incident Clegg went on stress leave from work, was deeply depressed and entrenched in alcoholism.

A psychiatrist recommended Clegg continue residing in an institutionalized care environment as he works toward his recovery.

Churchill said Clegg performed well at a treatment facility near Logan Lake B.C., where he’s lived for the past 14-and-a-half months.

Judge Saunders bluntly interrupted Churchill during his submissions.

“The entire focus appears to be on the rehabilitation for this young man and the time he’s had at Vision Quest, which seems to have been a lot of fun for him.”

Churchill response was Clegg constantly expressed deep remorse in reports provided to the court.

Clegg read out a brief prepared apology to court.

“What I did was a terrible thing, I cannot explain the remorse and put it into words. I’m so ashamed of what I did to ____and I think about it everyday.”

Clegg said he will continue to work on recovery to become a productive member of society.

Family and supporters representing the victim and the offender sat in opposite sides of the courtroom.

A clear motive for Clegg’s actions were never made clear.

Court was previously told Clegg doesn’t have a clear recollection of the attack he carried out.

During the first day of his sentencing hearing in June court heard an extremely intoxicated Clegg showed up at the victim’s door where she rejected his advances.

She was sober and felt it was best to drive him home, when he suddenly began stabbing her while she was behind the wheel.

The victim escaped her vehicle with minor injuries, but was followed closely by a determined Clegg.

He put a Batman mask on and chased her to the grocery store parking lot and stabbed her multiple times.

That portion of the attack was captured by graphic surveillance video footage previously shown in court.

Clegg stopped the attack for unexplained reasons and went to his nearby home where he told his girlfriend and 911 operator what happened.

He was arrested shortly after without incident.

Clegg told a clinical counsellor he believed the anger he had built up inside from his difficult childhood played a role in his actions.

Clegg had no criminal history prior to the shocking incident.

The Crown and defence both requested similar sentences of roughly two years of new jail time and three-years probation.

Sentences range between 16-months and six years in prison for similar offences. The maximum penalty for aggravated assault is 14-years behind bars.

Clegg will be credited for nearly 300 days already served in jail.

Judge Saunders is scheduled to render her decision on Friday, Oct. 11.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes

by Ian Holmes

Man awaits punishment for chilling knife attack against woman in Bowser

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