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The judge said the boy had been robbed of his childhood, and noted that the ex-Mountie did not express remorse. “In his father’s eyes, he was nothing,” the judge said.

“The extreme violence and psychological degradation was beyond comprehension,” said Maranger.

The former Mountie — who was convicted in November and fired by the RCMP weeks later — was also banned for life from ever being closer than two kilometres to his son.

The abused boy, now 15, did not attend Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, but he wrote a note to his father. As it was read aloud, Courtroom No. 32 fell silent.

“You used to always tell me that two plus two equaled four. If you take all of the multiples of four, that still wouldn’t equal all of the people that now care for me and are in my life. If one day you stop thinking about yourself, you may realize how wrong what you did was.”

While the message was being read, the boy’s father kept his head down as he sat in the prisoner’s box.

The lead investigators on the case — Det. Johanne Marelic and now retired Sgt. Tracy Butler — were praised by the judge for their work. It was Sgt. Butler’s last case, and she thanked her family for understanding the long hours behind it. She also heaped praise on her partner Marelic, who built a solid relationship with the boy and his extended family.