The Victoria woman who pleaded guilty to abducting her 20-month-old daughter nearly two decades ago will not go to jail.
On Tuesday, Patricia O’Byrne appeared in Ontario provincial court in Toronto and received a conditional sentence of two years less a day minus the six weeks she served in pre-trial custody.
For the first 12 months of her sentence, O’Byrne will be under house arrest at her home in Victoria. For the remainder of her sentence, she must abide by a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. That will be followed by two years of probation.
Justice Mara Greene ordered O’Byrne to complete 100 hours of community service and take counselling to address the traumatic childhood that led her to the crime.
O’Byrne, now 55, disappeared from Toronto with her baby daughter in May 1993 in violation of a court order. For more than 18 years, the child’s father, Joe Chisholm, searched tirelessly for his daughter, using police resources and child-find agencies.
O’Byrne and Chisholm met in 1986 and had a daughter in September 1991. They separated in June 1992 and signed a custody agreement that allowed O’Byrne to travel to South Carolina with her daughter from May 17 to May 30, 1993. On May 28, O’Byrne’s lawyer received an unsigned letter from O’Byrne saying she and the child were gone and Chisholm would not find them.
The child was registered with Child Find in Canada and the U.S.
A Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for O’Byrne.
She evaded capture for 18 years by obtaining false government identification. She and her daughter lived under assumed identities in Ireland and, for the past 10 years, in Victoria.
In October 2011, police received an anonymous tip from the Missing Children’s Society of Canada that O’Byrne was living in Victoria. After two months of police work, she was arrested.
An agreed statement of fact read into the court record at O’Byrne’s sentencing hearing on Feb. 15 says O’Byrne was sexually abused by male babysitters. She became convinced, wrongly, that Chisholm was putting their daughter at risk by using male babysitters. She became increasingly frightened for her daughter and believed the only way to keep her safe was to disappear.
However, Greene said, long after her concerns for her daughter’s safety had passed, O’Byrne did not turn herself in and give her daughter a chance to reconnect with family. “At some point during the 18 years, the continued abduction was a product of O’Byrne’s concern over being detected and prosecuted as opposed to her daughter’s well-being.”
During the sentencing hearing, Chisholm and the daughter filed victim-impact statements asking the court to show mercy and not send O’Byrne to jail. Greene praised Chisholm for his compassion, insight and kindness.
“He is truly a wonderful person and while I appreciate their daughter has grown into a wonderful young woman, there can be no doubt, she would have benefited greatly from knowing her father.”
Defence lawyer Julianna Greenspan said the most important thing in this “extremely unusual” case was the desire by father, child and mother to move forward.
“The whole focus in this case is for a hopeful future. … All that matters at the end of the day is that there is an opportunity for healing for everybody.”
