Calgary father sentenced to 10 years for abusing young son
Matthew Jason Scott, 41, was convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life, unlawful confinement and aggravated assault.
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Justice Ken McLeod sentenced Matthew Jason Scott, 41, to 10 years in prison on Friday after finding him guilty of failing to provide the necessaries of life, unlawful confinement and aggravated assault. The judge said each offence on its own would have warranted 12 years, and reduced the total to 10 in consideration of totality.
The Crown had asked for 15 years, and no less than 13 if totality was applied. Defence counsel Shaun Leochko argued a five-year term would have been warranted, which after credit for 4 years 7 months on remand would leave under two years and allow probation. Scott has 5 years 5 months left to serve.
The boy was 6 to 8 years old during the abuse, which spanned nearly two and a half years after the family took him in in April 2021. He was admitted to the Alberta Children's Hospital on Sept. 29, 2023, weighing 16.2 kg, about 36 lb, according to pediatrician Dr. Jennifer MacPherson. Crown prosecutor Zailin Lakhoo said he was so weak he could barely walk.
"Mr. Scott's moral blameworthiness is very high," McLeod said. "(The boy's) life was clearly endangered. Indeed, it is remarkable that he survived."
Scott pleaded guilty on March 18, 2025. His common-law wife, Stephanie Alisha Baker, faces her own charges, with her trial scheduled for January.
