Appeal court sending BC man to jail for sexually assaulting sister-in-law

CONTENT ADVISORY – This article deals with sexual violence

A BC veterinarian who was given two years of house arrest for drugging and sexually assaulting his sister-in-law almost 20 years ago is now heading to jail after Crown prosecutors successfully appealed the sentence.

A panel of three Justices at the BC Court of Appeal overruled the earlier sentence of house arrest, and instead ruled that Justin Donald Sewell should spend 33 months behind bars.

“There is no question that the (Sewell’s) sexual assault of (the victim) was an extremely grave violation of her bodily autonomy, sexual integrity, and dignity that caused her profound and ongoing emotional and psychological harm,” BC Supreme Court Justice Lisa Warren said in an Oct. 14 decision. “The offences had a devastating impact on (her). She suffered years of emotional and psychological pain, debilitating anxiety, and depression.”

The case dates back to 2007, when Sewell, who is a Fort St. John veterinarian, gave his then 20-year-old sister-in-law an alcoholic drink laced with ketamine or Valium.

Sewell then sexually assaulted her and took photographs of her naked.

The victim did not have a clear memory of the sexual assault, but did remember waking up with Sewell taking off her shorts and underwear and knew “something terribly wrong had occurred.”

The sexual assault caused a rift in the family and the victim cut off all ties with Sewell.

The decision said the vet kept the photos on his computer for years afterwards, and they were even seen by his staff, who assumed it was his wife.

Years later, in 2014, the victim told her other sister, who in turn cut off ties.

The Justice said Sewell’s actions created a terrible fracture within her family as the victim’s parents and her sister sided with Sewell while the other sister supported the victim.

The decision said Sewell would email her over the years saying he was ready to talk if she was ready. The victim never replied.

Then, in 2019, 12 years after the sexual assault, the victim went to the police.

Two years later, with the police investigation going slowly, the RCMP proposed to the victim that she arrange to meet Sewell and attempt to get a confession.

“Working with an RCMP team, (the victim) emailed (Sewell) to the effect that the only way for her and the family to move on would be for her and (him) to have a real conversation,” the decision read. “(He) replied to that email 44 minutes later, very clearly indicating that he welcomed a conversation.”

The two met in a restaurant at Vancouver airport, and Sewell confessed to what he had done, while the sister-in-law secretly recorded the conversation.

He was later charged with sexual assault and voyeurism and pleaded guilty. He also pleaded guilty to another incident where he had taken a photo of his sister-in-law through her bedroom window.

The decision said Sewell is now in his late 40s, has four children, and runs a thriving veterinarian clinic in Fort St. John.

“He told the sentencing judge that if he was unable to continue working there as a result of being incarcerated, the clinic would likely close. His patients would be left with nowhere else in town to take their animals as the only other veterinary clinic in Fort St. John was at capacity,” the decision read.

Sewell submitted 88 letters of support to the court and was an active church member, where he was accepted despite public knowledge of the crimes he committed. 

“He performed volunteer work and had made substantial financial donations to charity,” the Justice said.

He had a longstanding addiction to pornography, which he identified as the root cause of his offending, and nearly lost his marriage in 2014 after having an affair.

After this, he’d turned his life around, taken clinical workshops, and installed software on his computer so he couldn’t view pornography.

While Crown prosecutors sought a four-and-a-half-year jail term, the defence argued for house arrest, citing his admission of guilt and the steps he’d taken in the years since the offence.

The original judge, whose name is not given in the decision, agreed, and in April 2025, sentenced the vet to two years’ house arrest.

The Crown argued the original judge had overstated the mitigating effect of his confession, and the sentence failed to account for the harm of the voyeurism.

The Appeal Court agreed and ruled that two years and nine months’ jail was appropriate.

Sewell will have his sentence reduced by nine months to account for the time he already spent under house arrest.

NOTE TO READERS: To connect with a victim service program or violence against women program call VictimLink BC at 1-800-563-0808. VictimLink BC provides information and referrals to all victims, as well as immediate crisis response to victims of sexual and family violence.