A former Hamilton police officer will not go to jail for sexually assaulting the woman he was mentoring as she pursued her own career in policing.

Michael LaCombe, 54, will instead serve 12 months of house arrest followed by 12 months of probation after Justice Cameron Watson found him guilty of two counts of sexual assault in January, following a trial.

Watson sentenced LaCombe on Monday at the Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines, Ont., describing his crimes and the aftermath as “a spectacular and cataclysmic fall from grace” in his written decision.

“His life has taken an irreparable downward spiral. He is no longer the man he once was,” Watson wrote.

Watson also described how LaCombe’s conduct “devastated” the victim, who has felt isolated and suffers from panic attacks, among other impacts, in recent years.

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    147 months ago

    “… He is no longer the man he once was.”

    Pretty sure that’s not true. I can’t imagine any ethical, sane person waking up one morning and thinking to themselves “you know, I think I will try a little raping today!”

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      7 months ago

      He is different in the way that he used to be a rapist, now he’s a rapist that’s been caught but didn’t get legal any consequences.

      Hope ge gets social ones at least, everyone around him knowing what he is.