Article content continued

The judge ruled the victim was fast asleep and awoke to the worst.

The woman later dropped out of university and moved home to live with her parents. She has been diagnosed with PTSD and has tried to kill herself. She told the probation officer in an interview for a pre-sentence report that she was “losing the handle on life.”

“What he did has changed my life; I have lost so much and cannot get it back.”

During the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, the judge noted that the convicted rapist was not a predator and said the attack was not planned. Dyer will be on probation after his year-long sentence and will also be added to the sex-offender registry.

The judge also told court that Dyer had worked as an aide to a Conservative MP and quit his job right after his January conviction. The judge didn’t name the MP, and the defence lawyer Céline Dostaler and Crown prosecutor Walter de Venz said they didn’t know the name of the MP.

In conversation with a cuffed Dyer after the sentencing, and as he was being led down to the cellblocks, he said he worked for Ontario PC leadership candidate Patrick Brown. Dyer identifies himself online as a “volunteer co-ordinator” for Brown’s campaign.

Brown’s campaign said Wednesday that Dyer was an unpaid volunteer and that it knew nothing about the criminal case. The court heard during trial that Dyer didn’t tell the MP about his criminal charges.

Until his sentencing, Dyer was extremely active on social media. His twitter account looks like an ad for Patrick Brown and his Facebook page features photos of him with the strong PC candidate and other well-known Canadians. Dyer describes himself as a “pro-life feminist”.

Dyer moved to Canada from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as a four-year-old and by all accounts had a good upbringing.

“This was an unfortunate event where alcohol and drugs led to a bad decision. A 12-month sentence will allow him to get treatment and move on with his life,” Dostaler said.

gdimmock@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/crimegarden