Rykel Charleson and Mitchell Frank were originally charged with first-degree murder but later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Charleson’s son Dontay Lucas, 6
PORT ALBERNI — A Port Alberni mother and her partner have been sentenced to 15 years in prison for brutalizing and killing her six-year-old son in March 2018.
The couple abused Dontay, biting him, hitting him and making him hang by his knees from the top of a door. They deprived him of sleep, food and water, said Justice Michael Tammen, who accepted a joint submission from Crown and defence for the 15-year sentence. Dontay’s relatives — including his father, Patrick Lucas, and grandmother Judy Campbell — his former foster mothers and grieving members of the community gathered outside the courthouse at a rally before the hearing, drumming and singing and drawing attention to the family’s fight for an inquiry into Dontay’s death.
In March 2018, the Franks were living with Mia, 7, Dontay, 6, Lily, nine months and Hannah Frank’s sister Nessa, aged nine. Neither Dontay’s mother nor his stepfather was emotionally equipped to properly care for Dontay, said the judge, who cited “powerful Gladue factors” that affected both accused.
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