Forcible confinement cases in Canada

Police investigate the home in Upper Chelsea, N.S., where a boy was allegedly held captive and sexually assaulted by David James Leblanc and Wayne Alan Cunningham.

As police in London, Ont., investigate what they call a "horrific" case of forcible confinement involving a 10-year-old boy, statistics show a disturbing upward trend in such cases in Canada over the past 10 years.

While forcible confinement cases account for approximately 1 per cent of all violent crimes in the country, they have doubled over the past 10 years, with an increased rate across all provinces, Statistics Canada reported in 2013.

Forcible confinement involves holding someone against their will through the use of threat, force or duress. According to Statistics Canada, individuals known to the victim -- such as spouses, business acquaintances and friends -- were the perpetrator in most forcible confinement cases.

Earlier this week in London, Ont., authorities found the 10-year-old boy inside his aunt and uncle’s home, where he was locked in a bedroom, in filthy conditions.

Authorities allege he had been held captive for as long as two years.

The aunt and uncle were subsequently charged with forcible confinement and failing to provide the necessities of life.

As details of the London boy’s captivity begin to unfold, here’s a look at other recent shocking confinement cases in Canada.

Teen held captive in Bridgewater, N.S.

A Nova Scotia teen said he was held captive in a remote cabin for more than a week in September 2012. The teen, now 17, said he was blindfolded and had his hands and feet chained to a bed in the cabin for eight days, while a man sexually assaulted him. The boy eventually escaped, and a woman reported that a barefoot teenager showed up at her doorstep, chained at his wrists and ankles.

A trial in the case took place last week, where a jury found 64-year-old John Leonard MacKean guilty of communicating for the purposes of obtaining sexual services from a person under 18. At his trial, MacKean said the boy did not seem upset and was not in chains at the time of the incident. He also  said he was led to believe that the teen was a young adult. MacKean had testified he was invited to the cabin by Wayne Cunningham, with whom he had a sexual relationship after meeting at an AA meeting. He said the victim was already in the cabin when he arrived. MacKean will be sentenced on June 24.

Cunningham was also charged in the case, but was found dead in September 2012 as police conducted a Canada-wide manhunt. A third man, David James LeBlanc, was sentenced to 11 years in prison one year ago after pleading guilty to kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault, uttering threats and breach of conditions. According to an agreed statement of facts in LeBlanc's case, LeBlanc said he offered the teen a painting job and drove him in a van from Halifax to a cabin in Lunenburg County -- about 130 kilometres away – on the pretext of picking up paint supplies.

Developmentally disabled woman dies in Ardrossan, Alta.

Betty Anne Gagnon died in 2009 after living in horrible conditions at the hands of her sister and brother-in-law. Gagnon -- who was developmentally disabled and had the mental capacity of a child -- lived in a private-care home until the placement ended in 2005. After leaving the home, she went to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Denise and Michael Scriven, in their rural home near Ardrossan, Alta., just east of Edmonton.

While living with her sister, Gagnon was forced to live in makeshift cages. One of those cages, which the Scrivens called the “jail cell,” was made of chicken wire and blankets, trimmed with sharp nails. Inside the cage, which was located in the garage, police found a cuff tied to the wall and a toilet bowl filled with cat litter. Gagnon died from a head injury that was caused either by a blow to the face or a fall, according to a medical examiner. An autopsy showed she was just 66 pounds at the time of her death.

The Scrivens were originally charged with manslaughter and unlawful confinement. Those charges were dropped in 2013 after they pleaded guilty to failing to provide the necessities of life. They were each sentenced to serve 20 months.

Defence lawyers had said the couple struggled with their own mental-health problems when Gagnon began acting out, and they took misguided measures to correct her behaviour. They said the couple asked for help from other family members and government programs. While a judge agreed the couple wasn’t motivated by malice, he said they didn’t try very hard to get help either.

Calgary man convicted of torturing roommate

Dustin Paxton was labelled a dangerous offender last December after being convicted of aggravated and sexual assault for the prolonged abuse of his friend, roommate and business partner when the pair lived together in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Paxton’s victim suffered extensive facial damage and irreparable brain damage as a result of daily beatings over the course of 18 months. Paxton also starved, humiliated and sexually assaulted his victim on a regular basis. The victim -- who cannot be identified under a court order -- was ultimately left at a Regina hospital in April 2010, emaciated, bleeding and near death.

The man delivered a victim impact statement at Paxton’s sentencing hearing in October 2013, saying he took the abuse because he didn’t want to be labeled a “sissy,” and that he’d dreamed of becoming rich and famous through the business he and Paxton shared. At the time, he testified that he couldn’t sleep, was constantly anxious and has post-traumatic stress disorder. His bowel was ruptured, his ribs were broken and he’s missing part of his lip. The victim also detailed how he went through several surgeries aimed at reconstructing his face.

Paxton was given an indeterminate prison sentence, with an Alberta justice calling him a high risk to re-offend. He has appealed his conviction and sentence.

John Michael Siscoe

John Michael Siscoe moved in with a married woman in 2009 and, for two-and-a-half months, he locked her husband in a broom closet and tortured him. Siscoe repeatedly beat, abused and raped the husband, often pouring lighter fluid on his skin and setting it on fire. The wife, who was pregnant with Siscoe’s child, sometimes watched or helped with what Siscoe was doing.

Police found the man on Jan. 19, 2010, and Siscoe and his lover were taken into custody. Siscoe pleaded guilty to physically, sexually and emotionally torturing the man, and was sentenced to indefinite incarceration. He was also labelled a dangerous offender.

According to reports, court heard how Siscoe was neglected by his mother from birth, and beaten throughout his childhood. He was adopted by a Montreal couple at age 3, but could barely walk and only knew two words. Reports said he was diagnosed with ‘significant psychopathic’ personality traits and personality disorder, which led to his aggressive behaviour and lack of remorse. Siscoe also had a substance dependence condition.

The woman in the case pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, sexual assault causing bodily harm and failing to provide the necessities of life. She was sentenced to eight years in prison. Siscoe, the woman, and her husband are all developmentally delayed.

With files from The Canadian Press