Sentence reduced for woman who bit another person's child in Kamloops

A woman who bit another person's child in Kamloops went to BC Supreme Court to have her sentenced reduced by several months. Jessie Jolene Louise Kerr pleaded guilty to assault last year for what was described as a "one-off incident" of "excessive force" to discipline someone else's child. They were at a park where the child had a "fit" when told it was time to leave. Kerr bit the child's shoulder and pinched their chest to gain control of the child, according to a recently published BC Supreme Court decision. "The bite broke the skin, there was bruising, and the child was emotionally impacted," the decision reads. READ MORE: Kamloops gangland first-degree murder conviction 'cannot stand': BC Court of Appeal https://infotel.ca/newsitem/kamloops-gangland-first-degree-murder-conviction-cannot-stand-bc-court-of-appeal/it106144 Kerr's friends described it as out of character and said she is a loving parent, while she also had no criminal record. The Crown and defence submitted a 12-month probation order agreement, but the provincial court judge extended that to 19 months. "It seems to me that it is my job ... to protect society and maintain a just, peaceful, and safe society, by imposing just sanctions. In my view, my primary job, when it is an abuse of a child is to continue to protect that child on that level, without interfering with the liberty of the accused any further than I need to, and I think I can accomplish that by simply making this probation order longer, but having the reporting piece of it end at the end of 12 months," the provincial court judge said. Kerr's child and the victim go to the same school, so the judge added seven months so she would be restricted from contact with the victim until the end of the corresponding school year. READ MORE: Build Kamloops 'yes' campaign works behind the scenes, 'no' campaign dodges transparency https://infotel.ca/newsitem/build-kamloops-yes-campaign-works-behind-the-scenes-no-campaign-dodges-transparency/it106110 But BC Supreme Court Justice Barbara Norell said the sentencing judge didn't have any reason to override a joint submission between the Crown and defence beyond being "very uncomfortable." Norell said she must "consider whether the proposed joint sentence would leave reasonable and informed persons to believe that the proper functioning of the justice system had broken down," and decided to return to the originally proposed 12-month suspended sentence. Kerr's conditions weren't changed. It's not clear whether Kerr served part of her probation order since the initial December 2023 sentence or when exactly the probation order will end. Under the 19-month sentence it would have concluded July 2025. To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry mailto:llandry@infonews.ca  or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .