Naming your attacker would be ‘unfair,’ Toronto judge tells sex assault victim before handing down ‘very low’ sentence - Toronto Star

Sex assault victim Susan Gilbreath was in disbelief — “Are we protecting the victim? Or are we protecting the perpetrator?”

Susan Gilbreath wants to talk openly about her sexual assault — and the man who did it.

When Susan Gilbreath asked to have the publication ban removed on her name at the sentencing of the ex-boyfriend who violently sexually assaulted her, the judge said it felt “very unfair.”

And then came the prison sentence for Frederick Moore: three-and-a-half years for aggravated sexual assault, far below what the Crown was asking for, and which Superior Court Justice Gillian Roberts herself acknowledged was “very low.” Moore was then promptly released on bail pending appeal.

Gilbreath sat in the courtroom feeling “numb — completely numb.”

She pointed out in an interview that she had done “exactly what I was asked by everybody involved” in the justice system, including a sexual assault exam and preparing to testify at a trial that never ended up happening because Moore admitted to the attack.

But that same system had failed to show up for Gilbreath, leaving her to continue to fear for her safety and wondering when Moore will truly be held accountable. 

“I feel that because I survived, I’m more or less being punished,” the 50-year-old woman told the Star. “I really feel that if he killed me that day, that maybe the outcome would be different.”

Publication bans are imposed almost as a matter of routine to protect the identities of sexual assault complainants like Gilbreath. Up until the sentencing on Oct. 23, the publication ban also protected Moore’s name, because identifying him would risk identifying Gilbreath.

Susan Gilbreath with Frederick Moore in a photograph she shared with the Star to tell the story of her attack.

Gilbreath felt that the ban had allowed Moore to hide from what he had done. She was looking to regain her identity and power by having the ban lifted, putting names and faces to a vicious attack. On March 24, 2023, Moore ripped off the pants of her pink pantsuit and tried to penetrate her with his fingers and shove her tampon in her mouth. He then chased her out of their unit and banged her head against an elevator wall in a Toronto building.

“I saw complete evil that day,” she said.

The law is clear: except in very limited circumstances, judges must lift the publication ban at the victim’s request.

But Roberts hesitated. The judge pointed out that Moore had candidly offered a lot of personal information during the sentencing proceedings, including about his own childhood abuse and alcoholism, with the understanding that his name would be shielded.

“I’m concerned there’s a basic unfairness in lifting the ban,” she said. “I feel like I’m ripping the carpet out from under him in a way that feels very unfair to me.”

Crown attorney Brad Ververs repeatedly pointed to what the law says, as Gilbreath watched from the public gallery, stunned.