There were tears of joy and tears of sorrow in a Goderich, Ont. courtroom Friday morning, as Cam Doig was sentenced for historical sexual offences.
The former Seaforth golf pro and coach was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail for sexual offences involving a teenage girl, dating back to the mid 90s.
In September 2022, Doig was convicted of one count of sexual assault, one count of sexual interference and two counts of sexual exploitation for offences he committed while the female victim was between the ages of 13 and 16. Doig, in his mid 30s at the time, was a golf pro and coach.
All the offences happened at the Seaforth Golf and Country Club, which was and continues to be owned and operated by Doig and his family.
During sentencing, the judge spoke of the 39 letters of character reference submitted to the court, many from the regional and international golfing community in support of Doig, many calling him “honourable, generous and trustworthy.”
But the judge said Doig used those exact traits “to exploit a young person.”
“He betrayed her trust, her family’s trust and the trust of the community,” said Judge Hebner.
After the three-and-a-half year jail sentence was announced, Doig’s daughter started crying, and asked the court if she could hug her father one more time before he was led away to jail.
On the other side of the court, quiet exclamations and tears of joy as the victim, her family and supporters reacted to the verdict.
The victim, who is now in her 40s, and cannot be identified due to a publication ban, said she is “pleased” with the length of the sentence.
“I wanted him to be held accountable for what he did, and he was,” she says.
During victim impact statements heard last week, the victim said, “Cam Doig stole my innocence. He impacted every relationship I’ve had with a man ever since.”
But Friday’s sentencing almost didn’t go forward.
Before the hearing began Friday morning, Doig’s lawyer asked for a postponement of sentencing until Doig could finish winterizing the Seaforth Golf and Country Club that he’s continued to work at since being charged 29 months ago. He also wanted to run the final golf tournament of the season.
The judge denied that request.
The Crown was seeking a sentence of between four to five years in jail for Doig, while the defence was seeking a conditional sentence of two years less a day of house arrest.
As part of his sentence, Doig will be added to Canada’s sex offender registry. He is not allowed to go near public parks, pools, and/or community centres where people under the age of 16 could reasonably be expected to be for the next 10 years. He also cannot be in a position of trust for anyone under the age of 16 for 10 years.
There is a civil suit before the court as well, in relation to this case.
Doig will be back in court later this year to face an unrelated charge of indecent assault on a female, where his defence lawyer has indicated he’ll be seeking a change of venue from Huron County for the trial because of the publicity surrounding Doig’s prior cases.
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