The Ontario Provincial Police are asking for the public’s help in locating a driver who fled from the scene of an accident on Saturday.

Police said the accident happened around 4:25 p.m.  on Highway 3 near Cameron Side Road in Kingsville.

Witnesses told police that a red Chrysler PT Cruiser was travelling westbound on Highway 3 when it veered into the eastbound lane, forcing a grey Honda Element to swerve and strike a westbound Pontiac Sunfire.

No one was injured in the crash.

Police said the PT Cruiser slowed down but then continued to head westbound on Highway 3 towards Windsor.

Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to call OPP Const. James Markham at 519-723-2491 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Three students from Kingsville high school will soon be $500 richer after they placed second in a national contest to raise awareness about distracted driving.

Jordan Ladell, 17, Zack Valeri, 18, and David Martens, 17, learned about the Just Drive Canada contest, sponsored by insurer Allstate Canada, last November through school.

They were being assigned an audio project at school, so they decided to make their project an entry to the contest.

“It’s basically kind of like a PSA (public service announcement) about texting and driving,” said Ladell.

The trio finished second to four students from Ecole Marie-Esther in Shippagan, N.B.

They will receive $500 for their efforts, while the school will receive $250.

The entry featured the sound of somebody receiving a text message and responding. Then a male voice speaks: “By the time he looks up and sees the car ahead of him, it’s been five seconds. It will take two-fifths of a second before his brain registers what’s going on. By the time he reaches the brakes, it’s too late.”

Then follows the sound of screeching tires and the impact of smashing metal and shattering glass.

I different male voice says “I only looked down for a second.”

The original voice then returns, and says “It only takes one second. Save a life. Keep your eyes on the road.”

Among the judges in the contest was MuchMusic VJ Phoebe Dykstra.

Ladell is the only one of the three who drives, and says he is always conscious about distracted driving.

Essex County Road 34 in Kingsville between Malden Road and Cameron Side Road has re-opened after a crash knocked down hydro poles, causing the road to close while hydro crews repaired the downed poles.

The collision occurred at around 1:35 a.m. Saturday on County Road 34 between Malden Road and Cameron Sideroad. There were no injuries but two hydro poles were damaged in the crash.

The cause of the crash is yet to be determined and the investigation remains ongoing.

KINGSVILLE Highway 3 between Essex County Road 18 and Graham Side Road has also re-opened after a  crash between two vehicles.  Investigation remains ongoing to determine the cause of the crash.

Police say a Pontiac Grand Am travelling west on Highway 3 collided with a Chrysler 200 travelling east on the same road.

Four persons involved in the crash were hospitlized with what appear to be non life-threatening injuries.

Two crashes over the weekend forced the closure of  sections of two county roads  for cleanup and police investigation.

Essex County Road 34 in Kingsville between Malden Road and Cameron Side Road was closed for about 12 hours following a single-vehicle accident that happened at about 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

There were no injuries but the vehicle knocked down two hydro poles.

Another collision involving two vehicles occurred Saturday afternoon and forced Highway 3 between Essex County Road 18 and Graham Side Road to remain closed for about two hours.

OPP say a Pontiac Grand Am going west on Highway 3 collided with a Chrysler 200 travelling east.

Four persons involved in the crash were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Investigations remain ongoing to determine the cause of both crashes.

The Ontario Fire Marshall’s office continues to investigate a house fire that caused $200,000 in damages.

The blaze occurred Monday around 7 p.m. at a single unit residence in the 1300 block of Suncrest Road in Kingsville.

Fire crews responded from both the south and north fire stations and spent five hours on scene.

“The fire was brought under control quickly but not before significant damage had occurred,” said fire department Chief Bob Kissner.

Ontario Provincial Police investigations into three collisions in the county have led to charges against two young men and a decision not to lay charges in a third.

The OPP has decided charges are not warranted against the surviving driver in a Jan. 29 fatal two-vehicle collision near Harrow. Just after 5 p.m. that day, 25-year-old Nicole Rogers of McGregor was travelling southbound on Essex County Road 11 when she lost control and collided with a northbound Dodge Ram pickup.

Rogers was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The driver of the Dodge Ram was not injured.

The two collisions that led to charges took place in the Kingsville area on Saturday. The first collision took place early in the morning at about 1:30 a.m. near Malden Road and Cameron Side Road.

A vehicle struck two hydro poles, causing workers to close the road for hours while they made repairs. No one was injured.

Police charged a 24-year-old Leamington man with careless driving and driving without a licence.

Later that day at about 12:15 p.m., a Pontiac Grand Am travelling westbound on Highway 3 between Essex County Road 18 and Graham Side Road lost control and drifted into the eastbound lane, with an eastbound Chrysler 200 striking the rear passenger door.

The force of the collision split the Pontiac in half. Paramedics transported a passenger in the Pontiac and the two occupants of the Chrysler to hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

Police charged 19-year-old William Klassen of Wheatley, the driver of the Pontiac, with careless driving.

Kingsville OPP are looking looking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect wanted for the alleged theft of a debit card last month.

Police said they received a call from a woman saying she had lost her debit card at the end of January and noticed there had been several transactions she did not authorize.

OPP have released photos of a suspect they describe as a white male, between 25 to 35-years-old with a goatee and receding hairline.

Anyone who may recognize the man is asked to call OPP Const. Mike Primeau at 519-723-2491 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 519-258-8477.

A photo of a suspect wanted in connection with a debit card theft in Kingsville, Ont.  (HANDOUT/The Windsor Star)

Seventeen-year-old siblings Bailey and Corey Wintermute didn’t miss a day of school last year, even when their mother was seriously injured in a car accident.

While most students would probably use the incident as an excuse to ditch class, not the Wintermute twins.

“We don’t miss unless we are seriously ill,” said Bailey Wintermute. “Mom was being cared for at the hospital and said it was OK to attend school. Mom encourages us and was OK with us continuing our studies.”

The twins were among 25 students at Kingsville high school recognized last week with a pizza celebration and certificates honouring them for perfect attendance in the previous semester. The school has 640 students.

When school officials announced which students had achieved the perfect attendance milestone, three students were missing from the list and made administration aware of the omission.

Richard Sawatzky, 16, said he did it to get free pizza.

“It will also be good for my resume,” he said. “Jobs are looking for people with good attendance.”

Tyler Johnson, 17, said if he misses school it just means he has to catch up.

“This is the time when it matters,” he said. “Universities I’m guessing look at how you were in Grade 11. If you don’t do it now it will bite you later.”

There are days when Logan Cleary is unmotivated to go to school or misses the bus.  That’s when his parents drive him to school and encourage him to stay on top of his studies, he said.

School administrators said Thursday they know engaging a student is key to good attendance. Case in point is Kess White, 17, who never would have won any attendance awards in Grade 9.

But since he started the Ontario Young Apprenticeship Program, he’s been on time and present.  Last semester, the Grade 12 student didn’t miss a day while working at a Chrysler dealership, training to be a mechanic. When his employer told him he’d worked the required hours needed for the semester and could take a couple days off, he didn’t.

“I love learning new things,” he said of going to work. “There is always something to do.”

Absences from school can be for a variety of reasons, administrators said. Some parents take their kids on vacations during the school year because it’s cheaper than the summer or they can’t get the time off when school is on break, vice-principal Chris Szpak said.

Some parents will phone the school reporting their child absent with a weak reason or none at all, he said.

The school recognizes the importance of attendance because it is strongly tied to academic performance. Of the 45 students who failed at least one class last semester, most had missed multiple days of school; 11 were gone for 15 or more days over 4 1/2  months.

“We know this is an issue and it’s very hard to tackle,” principal Pat Masson said. “We only have so much control. Parents are the strongest influence on their sons and daughters.”

Mayor Nelson Santos helped the students celebrate last week.

“Not all these students get recognized academically or through sports,” Santos said. “They are the everyday student. Showing up for class is like going to work every day. Because they are there, they are in the know. They are one step closer to understanding the real world.”

mwolfson@windsorstar.com or 519-255-709 or follow me on Twitter @winstarmonica

Bailey Wintermutle, left, Kess White, Tyler Johnson and Corey Wintermute were recognized last week for having perfect attendance last semester at Kingsville High School. The students, shown Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013, were part of 25 honoured by the school with pizza and a certificate for the achievement. (Monica Wolfson/The Windsor Star)

A Kingsville father’s instinct to protect his son against a bully landed him and his child in Ontario court Wednesday.

The boy, 15, had been bullied by an older student at Kingsville District High School since early in the school year. On Nov. 14, he and his dad came across the bully downtown and an altercation ensued.

The bully knocked the boy to the ground with a single punch, so the boy’s father intervened. The father held the bully’s arms behind his back and let his son have at him. “Hit him harder,” the father said as his son punched the bully repeatedly.

The bully complained to police, who charged the boy and his father with assault.

In court Wednesday, both pleaded guilty. The boy, who looks much younger than his 15 years, turned red as he addressed the court. Justice Lloyd Dean discharged the boy with conditions to take counselling on how to deal with bullies and manage his anger. He will sentence the father, who is 41, at a later date.

Defence lawyer Neil Rooke said he will be seeking a conditional discharge for the father as well. A discharge means there will be no criminal conviction.

Neither the father nor the son can be identified to protect the son’s identity according to provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The boy in the case is in Grade 10. Court heard his tormentor was a much larger teen in Grade 12.

The older teen had begun picking on a boy with Tourette’s syndrome. When the teen in court Wednesday had stood up for the other boy, the bully began targeting him, too.

“He was so frustrated at not being able to defend himself,” Rooke told the court.

The judge spoke sympathetically to the boy. “I was bullied too,” Dean told him, recounting how he once fought back against a bully, with bloody results.His bully tormented him while skating at an arena. Dean was still wearing skates when he kicked the other boy, slicing his leg open. “I should have been charged,” Dean said.

Dean urged the boy to “walk away” when a bully taunts him. “You’ve got to figure out a better way to handle things because look who’s here in court.”

Assistant Crown attorney Shelley McGuire said the father led his son astray. McGuire said the father knew his son was being bullied. “His solution to that is to bully back…. Hopefully he has some shame for participating in this event.”

ssacheli@windsorstar.com

KINGSVILLE After three days of crunching the numbers, Kingsville council on Tuesday approved a 2013 budget that includes a 1.5-per-cent residential tax hike.

For the average home assessed at $200,000, the increase translates into an annual tax increase of $35.13, said Mayor Nelson Santos.

The actual municipal portion of the tax bill rises 2.9 per cent, but the overall tax rate is lower because this year’s school board levy is shrinking by four per cent. The county levy rises 2.4 per cent in 2013.

For average homes of similar value, Santos said Kingsville’s annual property taxes are still about $1,000 less than in Windsor. Windsor on Monday approved its fifth straight budget with a municipal tax freeze.

Combining taxes with water and sewer rates, Santos said his town is still the most affordable place in the county.

Among the bigger-ticket items in this year’s budget: $2.6 million for road reconstruction and storm sewer work along Prince Albert Street; $1.4 million for retrofitting and expansion of the town hall; and about $600,000 (for Phase 1 of a $1.2 million overall project) for development of Mettawas Park along the waterfront.

dschmidt@windsorstar.com

The LCBO is about to open two brand-spanking new outlets in Windsor and Kingsville this week.

File photo president and CEO of LCBO Bob Peter, (Windsor Star files)

The new LCBO at Windsor’s Tecumseh Mall will be officially opened Wednesday morning by LCBO president Bob Peter.

The 12,000 square-foot location will offer more than 1,900 products including more than 500 Ontario wines and a walk-in section for beer.

On Thursday morning, Peter will be in Kingsville to open a new 5,000 square-foot store which replaces one that sat in a century-old building on Main Street East.

The new store at 390 Main St. E. will have more than double the display space of the one it is replacing.

A Windsor Star photographer had been warned that “it would be just too bad for him” if he attempted to take this picture – but here it is. It shows rum runners salvaging a rum boat and 300 cases of liquor from a sand bar about a mile east of Leamington in this undated file photo. The boat had put out from Kingsville for an “undetermined destination,” but was forced to put back and then collapsed on the sand bar. The photograph was taken from behind sheltering bushes on the shoreline.  (FILES/The Windsor Star)

Fast nearing completion is Kingsville’s new band shell being built in Wigle Park at a cost of over $1,000. The shell, pictured on May 28, 1942, will be used by the Kingsville Boys’ Band for its summer concerts which are fast becoming one of south Essex’s outstanding musical theatre.

While other seven-year-old girls are hoping for new toys, gadgets, or clothes, Hallie Ganderton has a much bigger dream: She wants to take her power wheelchair with her anywhere she goes.

Hallie Ganderton, 7, is shown at her Cottam, Ont. home, Monday, April 1, 2013.  (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

Hallie has cerebral palsy, and uses her trackball-operated wheelchair to get around. Her disorder affects every aspect of her life — from her mobility, to her speech, to her sight.

“She needs around-the-clock care,” said Hallie’s mother, Heather Ganderton. “She has difficulty with the most basic things, like using her hands, bathing, toileting, and talking.”

Lindsay Jones, who has been Hallie’s respite worker for three years, entered Hallie in a contest to win a wheelchair-accessible van. The custom modifications for such a vehicle would normally cost about $20,000, plus the cost of the van itself.

The contest, organized by the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association, awards a wheelchair accessible van to the three families/ individuals in Canada or the United States who accumulate the most votes on the website.

Click here to vote for Hallie.

Jones said the contest is in celebration of May being National Mobility Awareness Month, and is also based on being a hero, and she says Hallie is just that.

“She works so hard, she’s so intelligent, she always challenges herself and always wants to succeed,” Jones said. “And she does it all with the biggest smile on her face.”

Her power wheelchair stays at John McGivney Children’s Center, where Hallie is a Grade 2 student, and her family uses a manual wheelchair to move her at home. But Heather said Hallie is getting bigger, and it’s getting harder to constantly switch her from chair to chair.

Hallie said she could “be a superstar” if she won the van, because she could bring her power wheelchair anywhere she goes and be more “independent.”

Even though Hallie needs a lot of help, said Jones, she is constantly inspired by the determination she sees in the young girl.

“Being with a respite is usually a time for fun, a time to take a break,” she said. “But Hallie always wants to work on her schoolwork, or her math, or her occupational therapy.”

Hallie Ganderton, 7, is shown at her Cottam, Ont. home, Monday, April 1, 2013. The youngster’s family is hoping that their daughter who has cerebral palsy can win a handicap accessible van that is available through on online voting contest. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

At birth, Hallie suffered a severe brain injury, and her heart stopped. Doctors said she might not make it, and if she did, she would be blind, unable to crawl or use a walker, and would be reliant on a feeding tube. But Hallie has always loved a challenge.

Not only did Hallie survive, she also regained full sight through light therapy, learned to use a walker at age two, learned to spoon-feed herself, and remains an optimistic and happy young girl who continues to inspire her family and friends.

“She doesn’t let me go easy on her, she likes to be challenged,” Jones said. “If I tell her she can’t do something, she will work even harder just to prove me wrong. She’s grinning ear to ear just hearing me say that, because she knows it’s true.”

Heather Ganderton is a stay-at-home mother of three, while Hallie’s father Shane works in IT. In addition to seven-year-old Hallie, Heather has two sons — nine-year-old Parker and 11-year-old Carter.

She says Hallie’s brothers have rallied to support her in this contest, getting their school behind them as well.

“Parker is even doing announcements at school,” Heather said. “They both see beyond her disabilities, they include her in their games.”

But it hasn’t been easy. Jones said though she loves working with Hallie, it’s sometimes difficult to watch the young girl’s daily struggles.

“It’s hard to hear her say things like it’s her dream to walk,” Jones said. “But she doesn’t cry or ask why she is this way, she knows what her condition is and accepts it.”

“She’s made me realize that in life there’s obstacles, but everyone can overcome them.”

Heather said the van would be an incredible blessing for her family, and is asking the community to vote for Hallie every day until the contest closes on May 10.

Jones said hearing the struggles of Hallie’s family brings a tear to the eye, but seeing their progression and accomplishments is inspiring.

“I really do believe her progress was not a miracle,” she said. “She got where she is today because of her incredible hard work and her family’s hard work.”

Hallie Ganderton, 7, is shown at her Cottam, Ont. home, Monday, April 1, 2013. The youngster’s family is hoping that their daughter who has cerebral palsy can win a handicap accessible van that is available through on online voting contest. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

A pair of young Kingsville entrepreneurs hope to create a new local industry based on what they describe as the next cool thing in personal transportation, the Qugo.

“It’s the same sensation as skiing down a hill,” said Arlindo Rocha, as he slalomed effortlessly through some tight turns atop the three-wheeled vehicle.

“It’s skiing — on the road,” Rocha’s partner Patrick Voortman added during a demonstration Wednesday inside the downtown armouries building.

Voortman spotted the Dutch-built electrical transportation device on a TV show there and was hooked. He brought one home from Holland last year and among those fascinated by the sight of it was his neighbour, Rocha, who works in R&D at Ford Motor Company.

“I thought it was awesome,” Rocha recalls, adding he’s now the one being stopped by those getting a first glimpse of the “human transporter.” The two got together last year and began importing and assembling Qugos after their company, Urban Flexibility North America Inc., gained the North American marketing rights.

The Qugo will be featured at one of the booths at this weekend’s Windsor Home & Leisure Show, which starts Friday at 635 Sprucewood Ave.

Fun aside, the pair see a more serious market for the Qugo from large companies, factory floors, campgrounds, golf courses and for security and even urban tour operations.

Voortman, whose “bread and butter” job is running a Kingsville-based greenhouse construction company, has already sold six Qugos to local greenhouse operators.

The Qugo is not an electric scooter or an e-bike — it has no pedals and its user is in a standing position. Unlike the two-wheeled, American-designed Segway, the Qugo has three wheels with disc brakes for each. The Segway has computer-controlled tilt and gyroscopic sensors to keep the rider steady, while the lighter Qugo has torsion springs for its two smaller rear wheels that swivel as the rider turns and leans into the corner.

At $2,500 retail, the Qugo sells for about half the price of a Segway. Even with its 48-volt battery, the zero-emission Qugo weighs about 25 kilograms and can be folded up and packed away in a car or a closet. It reaches speeds of 25 km/h. However, a law enforcement model can go up to 45 km/h.

“It’s a different breed altogether,” said Voortman.

Ontario’s Transportation Ministry, which is still studying the Segway, has given the Qugo the same initial designation as a wheelchair because it’s large front wheel shares the same diameter. It sports safety features like brake lights, headlight and a horn.

Voortman and Rocha have assembled about 100 Qugos so far, using components imported from the Netherlands, but the plan now is to start finding manufacturers here to build Made-in-Canada versions, beginning with locally sourced frames, fenders and wheels.

Eventually, said Voortman, he wants a local manufacturer to build the motors currently sourced from China.

“We’ll line them up with suppliers, plug them into the supply chain that exists here,” said Mayor Eddie Francis. He was first approached by Voortman about a year ago and was impressed with the young entrepreneur’s “vision to manufacture here and create jobs here.”

A few weeks ago, the local Qugo enthusiasts returned to the mayor’s office to advise him they’d secured the North American marketing rights and that they had perfected the concept and demonstrated to themselves they could build them here.

Even if the personal transporters are built in Kingsville, “I’m quite happy to see them in the region,” said Francis. He said a proposal is “under consideration” to demonstrate how the Qugo performs by equipping commissionaires or other staff at Windsor Airport.

Voortman and his family moved to Canada seven years ago. After initial employment as a greenhouse energy manager, he started his own greenhouse construction joint venture, JV Energy Solutions Inc., which currently employs 15 and is undergoing expansion on Wigle Avenue in Kingsville. Rocha will take care of day-to-day operations at Urban Flexibility, whose principal owner and president is Voortman.

For more information on the Qugo, visit www.urbanflexibility.com

dschmidt@windsorstar.com or on Twitter @SchmidtCity.

Arlindo Rocha, left, and Patrick Voortman of Urban Flexibility NA Inc. with their urban transporter Qugo, Wednesday April 3, 2013. (NICK BRANCACCIO/The Windsor Star)

Three men are being recognized by the Kingsville Fire Department for their bravery and quick thinking in rescuing seven people, six of them trapped in burning vehicles, at the scene of a fiery crash in November.

Justin Chevalier, Alex Kendrick and Brandon Peters were quick to react after a Chrysler Intrepid collided with a Chrysler minivan on Highway 3, west of Graham Sideroad on Nov. 14.

“This was an extraordinary situation,” said Kingsville Fire Chief Bob Kissner. “Normally we would encourage people NOT to move those that have been involved in an accident, due to injuries, but in this situation because of the fire, it was necessary.” The victims, he said, “were in grave danger and these guys stepped up to the plate.”

Kissner described the scene as “very involved,” with 11 emergency response vehicles responding.

The chief said his department does not hand out this type of award to civilians often but these men deserved it. The ceremony was Friday night.

“When we got there the car was fully engulfed and the van was very close (in proximity) to it,” said Kissner. “The car was badly damaged and the driver was trapped. Looking at the space she was in, it would have been no small feat to get her out. Some (of the other crash victims) were unconscious. Some had broken bones and were immobilized. There were some serious injuries.”

It was reported that the minivan’s doors were jammed with six injured occupants trapped inside. The three rescuers, who arrived on the scene before emergency crews, used a screwdriver and other tools from their vehicles to pry open the doors and extract the occupants. The men took the victims out and pulled them into the grass a safe distance from the fire.

All seven people involved were taken to Hotel-Dieu Grace Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Kissner said if it wasn’t for the intervention of the three men it there could have been a different outcome.

Peters, 26, called his father after the drama was over. His father Eric said he could hear his son’s voice was still shaky but Peters told him he wasn’t scared at the scene.

“He told me: ‘Dad I’m not a hero. Something just kicked in. There was another human being in there.”

Kissner believes the men were responsible for saving lives that day, or preventing serious burns at the very least.

“Their actions are exemplary and to put their lives on the line … and take action, is not the norm in society and it’s a real example for everyone to step up and help when its needed,” Kissner said.

Kingsville high school is pictured in this 1947 file photo.

The sexual abuse was a nighttime ritual.

A teenage girl described how her adoptive father came into her room last November and preyed on her as he’d done hundreds of times over the past four years.

The fact he was on trial for doing the same thing to one of her best friends did not seem to faze him.

“He wasn’t scared enough to leave me alone.”

The 45-year-old man, a former Kingsville resident who was a teacher in the Chatham area, pleaded guilty Monday to sexually exploiting his daughter between 2008 and 2012, beginning when she was 13. The guilty plea came on the day he was to be sentenced in Ontario court for sexually assaulting his daughter’s friend in July 2011.

For his abuse of both girls, the man was sentenced Monday to 3½ years in a federal penitentiary.

• Girl testifies to being sexually assaulted by friend’s dad
• Man denies sexual assault on teen
• Closing arguments in alleged sex assault on daughter’s friend
• Convicted pedophile charged with sexually assaulting step-daughter
• Sex assault sentencing delayed for aboriginal report

During her father’s trial last year, the daughter took the witness stand in his defence. Her testimony cast doubt on her friend’s evidence. Never did she let on that her father had been abusing her as well.

“I didn’t want to ruin my family,” she said.

Three nights before the judgment in the case was to be delivered, he abused her again. If he didn’t say the words this time, they were implied: “This is our little secret. Don’t tell mom.”

On the eve of the judgment, with stress in her household high, the girl finally broke her silence. Police were called. The father who had adopted her at age one was put in jail.

Court heard how the man was suicidal after his arrest. He suffers from depression and had been self-medicating with alcohol and illicit drugs, court heard. Defence lawyer Ken Marley said the man was trapped in a loveless marriage. The man and his wife, who was also a teacher and well known in the community, were staying together for the sake of their children.

Now, ruled Ontario court Justice Guy DeMarco, the man cannot contact any of them, including his two sons.

“I stand before you a broken man,” the man wrote in a letter to the judge. He said he has found Jesus Christ and attends counseling for sex offenders.

“I am not some kind of monster,” he wrote.

Marley argued that the man, as a first-time offender, should be sentenced to two years less a day. That sentence would be served in a provincial reformatory, whereas any sentence of two years or longer is served in a federal penitentiary.

Marley pointed to the man’s remorse, his aboriginal background and the fact he has been on bail for five months with conditions that amount to house arrest as factors that should result in a more lenient sentence.

Assistant Crown attorney Nicole Lamphier, pointing to the need for “significant condemnation” in the case, asked for a sentence of up to 4½ years.

The judge said the “predatory nature” of the crimes call for a penitentiary sentence.

“You abused terribly one of the most sacred trusts a man can have.”

The man’s wife attended court Monday, sitting neither with her husband nor daughter. Until the daughter came forward, the woman had been her husband’s staunchest defender.

She insisted her daughter’s friend was an attention seeker and had concocted the accusations. She routinely called police with unsubstantiated complaints about the girl’s family and tried to have the girl’s mother charged criminally for warning people about her husband.

Monday, the wife sat in the back row of the courtroom, looking up at the ceiling and crying.

Court heard the marriage is over.

The man will be on the national sex offender registry for at least 20 years and will have to provide a blood sample for the national DNA databank police use to solve crime. He will forfeit the hunting weapons police seized from him in 2011.

No punishment is enough, the daughter’s friend and her family said outside the courthouse Monday.

Because of  lies spread by her abuser’s family, the girl was bullied and ostracized at school, she said. “No one believed me.”

Now, she feels vindicated.

“The best thing for me is (his daughter) came out.”

ssacheli@windsorstar.com or on Twitter @winstarsacheli

A Kingsville family doctor faces a reprimand from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for professional misconduct.

Dr. James Maytham will appear before the college on May 23 for a reprimand relating to a finding dating back to March 2011 for which he also had his licence suspended temporarily.

Maytham was suspended by the college for four months in 2011 because his narcotics prescription log had incomplete sections — for example, dosages were not recorded alongside the patient’s name or medication type.

In January 2012, The Star reported Maytham’s Toronto lawyer Mark Veneziano said the college found some deficiencies in the narcotic log book but not in the treatment of patients.

CPSO records show as of November 2012, Maytham agreed to give up his right to prescribe certain medications, including those that fall under the category of narcotics and benzodiazepines, which are commonly prescribed for insomnia and depression.

Maytham has faced the CPSO discipline committee twice before.

In 2007, he co-operated fully with the college when it was found he prescribed a drug which for which he was not authorized. The records do not specify what type of medication this was. The breach appeared to be inadvertent, the CPSO committee wrote in its decision, but the doctor was reprimanded and ordered to pay the $3,650 cost of the disciplinary proceeding.

In 2009, the doctor faced the discipline committee again and was reprimanded for writing a prescription for a drug to treat a fungal infection for a patient he had never seen nor treated before. The college noted that the doctor’s breach of conduct was due in part to a deliberate misrepresentation by the patient.

At the time, The Star reported Maytham told the disciplinary committee one of his longtime patients asked him to write the prescription for a relative who lived in Romania. It turned out that Maytham’s patient got the medication for herself, using another woman’s employee drug benefit card to pay for it.

According to that CPSO decision, Maytham admitted to the allegations, and while the drug in question was not a narcotic or one that could be abused, the panel wrote in its decision that Maytham’s actions still failed to meet basic prescribing criteria for doctors — namely, that the doctor conduct a medical assessment and fully understand the patient’s condition.