Indecent act earns man stint behind bars

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on May 15, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Pincher Creek man who pulled down his pants at a local business earlier this month has received a three-month jail sentence.

Jensen James Fox, 51, received the sentence Tuesday in Lethbridge court of justice where he pleaded guilty to charges of committing an indecent act in public, and breach of probation.

Court was told that on May 6 Fox walked into the town’s Co-op grocery store, pulled down his pants and exposed himself. He then walked around the store before handing a sexually explicit note to a cashier.

“It was a note directed to another cashier that was working there, inviting her to participate in some sort of sexual activity with Mr. Fox,” Crown Prosecutor Robert Morrison said.

Fox was arrested shortly afterward in the parking lot.

Morrison pointed out Fox has a criminal record, which includes a conviction in April of last year when he received a six-month sentence for luring a person under the age of 16. He also has a 2006 conviction for aggravated sexual assault, for which he received a three-year sentence.

Lethbridge lawyer Darcy Shurtz explained Fox has numerous Gladue factors – discrimination, physical abuse, separation from culture or family, drug and alcohol abuse – which a court must consider when sentencing an aboriginal offender.

Fox’s father died in 1995 and his mother died in 2016 and he was raised primarily in foster homes where he suffered from racism and abuse. In one home he was locked in a room and only allowed out to use the bathroom, and food was brought to his room.

His parents were alcoholics and attended residential schools, and he began drinking when he was nine years old. By the time he was 17 years old he was using methamphetamine.

“He indicates that on this date in question he was high on drugs,” Shurtz said.

He added, however, Fox remains connected with his culture, and he and his wife smudge, and he “prays to the creator” and tries to lead a spiritual life.

Fox was given credit for the equivalent of 14 days he had already spent in remand custody, leaving him with 76 days to serve.

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