Calgary man who assaulted boys at wife's day home gets 5 months in jail

A Calgary man convicted of assaulting two young children who attended his wife's day home has been sentenced to five months in jail.

Byron Langager was found guilty on two counts of assault last Septemberby provincial court Judge Catherine Skene.

The boys were five years old and 19 month old at the time. The assaults took place in 2018 and 2019 at Little Arc Angels Dayhome in southeast Calgary. The victims' identities are protected by a publication ban.

Skene described the impact on the victims' families as "devastating and heartbreaking," but she also noted Langager's pre-sentence report was "extremely favourable" and he is a low risk to reoffend.

• Husband of day home operator found guilty of assaulting 2 children

Thejudgeidentified the boys in her decision as A, the elder one, and T, the toddler.

Langager assaultedA in the summer of 2018 and T onMarch 11, 2019.

An electrician by trade, Langager often helped his wife in her day home in Auburn Bay.

Fingerprint-shaped bruises on A

One summer day in 2018, A's grandmother picked him up. She testified that he seemed upset and clingy. When she took him swimming, she noticed "red, angry marks" on the boy's back, which turned into dark,tender bruises. The boy wouldn't say how he got the marks.

Around that time, A's familysaid he began refusing to go to the day home.

A's father also noticed bruises on his son from the middle of his legs all the way up to his spine.

The parents also noticed bruises in the shape of fingerprints on the boy's body.

The boy left the day home in August2018.

Injuries inflicted on toddler, sayschild abuse expert

On March 11, 2019, T's father picked up the toddler from the day home.

T's father testified thatLangager was stuttering and nervous when he showed him red marks behind T's ear and on his chest.

Concerned, T's dad suggested he might take his son to a walk-in clinic, but Langager advised the father not to go, saying children bruise easily.

T's father ignored the advice and took his son to a clinic. There, the doctor said the marks wereburst blood vessels.

Boy told police the abuse 'made my heart so sad'

The child was then taken to the Alberta Children's Hospital for further examination. Doctors said the marks were petechiae,caused by blood leaking through tiny blood vessels, capillaries, at the surface of the skin.

A child abuse expert doctor who treated T at the hospital said she was concerned the injury was inflicted.

Langager was arrested on July 15, 2019, and charged with assault.

WhenA's parents saw the news that Langager had been arrested, the father questioned his son about his time at the day home.

The boy told his parents that Langager had hit him.

Police then spoke with A, who saidLangager "was so mean he smacked me so hard, I got a lot of owies."

The youngsteralsotold officers the abuse "made my heart so sad."