A soldier from the Gagetown military base was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail for assaulting a nurse practitioner at the health centre on base last March.
Master Cpl. Nicholas Paulsen had pleaded guilty to forcible confinement, assault with a weapon and mischief causing property damage.
The assault happened at the health centre serving the 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown.
Provincial court Judge Natalie LeBlanc called it a violent, unprovoked, premeditated attack on a person in a vulnerable position, providing health care.
In a statement of facts, the court heard earlier how Paulsen walked into the office of nurse practitioner Dawn LeBlanc, closed the door behind him and pulled out a knife.
Paulsen blocked the exit, but LeBlanc was eventually able to escape with the help of three others pulling on the door.
Paulsen then stabbed the wall with his knife until someone took it away.
The incident happened just after Paulsen received a call that he was under a unit disciplinary investigation because of a previous meeting with LeBlanc, when he swore at her and slammed the office doors when he left.
In a statement to police after the second incident, he said he had just wanted to threaten her with the knife and make her understand what it was like to feel helpless.
Today, Judge LeBlanc acknowledged that Paulsen is a first-time offender and remorseful. She also noted he had a challenging start to his life and has mental health issues, as well as physical pain related to a fall in 2018.
The judge also said the victim continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks and has lost time and closeness with her family as a result of the assault. Her colleagues have reported similar feelings of fear and anxiety, while other health-care workers from the centre have quit altogether.
The defence had previously suggested Paulsen serve a conditional sentence, but the judge said that would not be enough of a deterrent.
She sentenced Paulsen to six months of incarceration for forcible confinement, six months for assault with a weapon and one month for mischief causing property damage. The sentences are to be served concurrently, minus 25½ days for time already served.
LeBlanc said she hopes Paulsen is able to better control his emotions once he’s released.
