A man from Saskatchewan who prevented his daughter from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to keep her away from her mother has been found guilty of violating a custody order with his ex-wife.
Michael Gordon Jackson failed to return his daughter to her mother, who had primary custody, after a weekend visit in November 2021. The child was 7 years old at the time, as reported by
CBC News.
Police located them in Vernon, B.C., in February 2022.
During the trial at Regina’s Court of King’s Bench, Mr. Jackson admitted that he took the girl to prevent her mother from vaccinating her against COVID-19, believing it would harm her.
Court documents
stated that the father was concerned about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy and tried to engage the mother in discussing it for eight months.
Mr. Jackson testified that his daughter had a respiratory illness and used a puffer, but his attempts to discuss the vaccine with the mother went unanswered, as reported by the National Post
here.
The mother, Mariecar Jackson, informed the court that Mr. Jackson had been seeking her opinion on the vaccine for months, while she awaited guidance from the Saskatchewan government.
After Mr. Jackson refused to return the child, Ms. Jackson
agreed to sign an affidavit stating she would not vaccinate their daughter.
Justice Heather MacMillan-Brown instructed the jury to focus on whether Mr. Jackson intentionally withheld the child from the mother, rather than the vaccine issue.
The judge
reportedly told the jury not to base their decision on the vaccine’s safety or necessity.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours before returning a guilty verdict, with no sentencing date scheduled.
According to
court documents, Mr. Jackson was ordered to return the child to her mother on Nov. 26, 2021, with police enforcement. Despite his appeal, the decision stood.
An interim order granted sole custody and decision-making authority to Ms. Jackson on Jan. 5, 2022.
Justice M.T. Megaw found Mr. Jackson in contempt of court and
sentenced him to 60 days in jail, serving until Feb. 13, 2023. Upon release, he was prohibited from contacting the child or mother, except through legal counsel.
