Crown seeking longer sentence for Edmonton sex offender Matthew McKnight

Crown prosecutors in Alberta are appealing the sentence of former Edmonton nightclub promoter Matthew McKnight, who is serving eight years in prison for sexually assaulting five women.

The Crown is asking the Court of Appeal of Alberta to extend the sentence to 15 years, arguing that the judge who sentenced McKnight failed to take into account his predatory pattern of behaviour.

McKnight, 36, was convicted in January 2020 for sexual assaults he committed between 2010 and 2016, when he was an assistant manager and promoter at several bars and nightclubs in Edmonton.

In an Edmonton court on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor Matthew Griener argued that McKnight's pattern of "planning and plying" women with alcohol merits a steeper sentence.

"They were made vulnerable," Griener said, referring to the assaults as "serial rape."

McKnight met women at bars or nightclubs and lured them back to his apartment, where he sexually assaulted them.

Police charged McKnight with sexually assaulting 13 women between the ages of 17 and 22.

In January 2020, a jury found him guilty on five counts of sexual assault against five women.

Prosecutors asked for a total sentence of 22 years, while McKnight's lawyer recommended five to nine years.

In July 2020, Justice Doreen Sulyma sentenced McKnight to eight years.

In delivering her sentence, Sulyma told court that based on the circumstances of each of the five assaults, the cumulative sentence would have been 16 years.

But that would have exceeded what was "just and appropriate in light of the overall culpability of this offender," the judge said in her decision.

Sulyma noted McKnight's young age, his potential for rehabilitation, that he was a first-time offender, and that he had endured significant bail conditions.

McKnight was attacked by another prisoner at the Edmonton Remand Centre when he was custody in October 2016. Sulyma reduced his sentence by a year because of the assault.

• Former Edmonton nightclub employee sentenced to 8 years for sex assaults
• Edmonton bar promoter convicted on five counts of sexual assault

Peter Sankoff, the lawyer representing McKnight in his appeal, argued Tuesday that the trial judge had sufficient information to decide on the eight-year sentence.

McKnight, who has served 2 years at the Bowden Institution, has accepted responsibility for his actions, Sankoff told the court.

• Former Edmonton nightclub employee loses appeal of sex assault conviction

Since his conviction, McKnight has lost an appeal for a new trial in Alberta.

Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected McKnight's application for the top court to hear the appeal for a new trial.

The Alberta Court of Appeal judges reserved judgment Tuesday, and said they will prepare a written decision on the sentencing appeal.