Adam King marked his 40th birthday Friday and it was far from an auspicious occasion.
The Algoma Steel employee was in a Sault Ste. Marie courtroom to face a number of charges, and now has a criminal record.
He pleaded guilty to three offences, via video from the Algoma Treatment and Remand Centre, where he had spent 63 days in custody.
The father of two was convicted of assault, mischief (for reporting an offence that didn't occur to generate an incident number for an insurance claim) and failing to comply with a release order.
Ontario Court Justice Heather Mendes heard a former partner of King's contacted city police in October 2021 to report dated incidents that had occurred during their six-year relationship.
She provided details of several occurrences, involving pushing, slapping and placing his hands on her neck, assistant Crown attorney Robert Skeggs said.
The mischief charge stemmed from a July 28, 2022, incident where King reported his 2017 Chevrolet pickup had been stolen and damaged.
The accused told police he had left the keys in the ignition and awoke to a 7 a.m. call from a tenant indicating his vehicle had been found at the end of Goulais Avenue.
Two other people reported that they had seen him operating the truck, which had extensive damage, the prosecutor told Mendes.
Skeggs said the third offence occurred between December of last year and Feb. 17.
King was bound by a bail release order involving a woman he wasn't to communicate with, the court heard.
She told the Ontario Provincial Police detachment in Blind River he was continually calling and contacting her on Facebook.
The Crown and defence lawyer Adrienne Hagan jointly recommended that her client be sentenced to time served, followed by probation.
Skeggs said the accused is taking responsibility for his actions, pointing out that the offences would have required three separate trials.
He cited the domestic violence as an aggravating factor.
King is remorseful, has no prior criminal record, and "has learned the hard way," Hagan said. Sixty-three days in custody is significant.
"He went from working full time and being a full-time father to being in jail," the defence said.
"I just want to see my boys," King told the judge.
Mendes agreed this was a hard lesson for King, telling him she hopes he has learned from it and won't find himself in this situation again.
She sentenced him to time served (63 days), and with the enhanced credit he received for his pre-sentence custody it equals 93 days behind bars.
King will be on probation for 18 months, must take any recommended counselling and must stay away from a number of individuals.
Mendes imposed a three-year weapons prohibition and ordered him to provide a DNA sample for the national database.
Hagan told the judge her client still has other outstanding charges, and these matters were sent to bail court.