A Whitehorse man will spend 22 months behind bars for raping his female friend a year and a half ago.

Matt Leblanc, 23, was sentenced Friday afternoon by Justice Leigh Gower in Yukon Supreme Court. He was found guilty last December following a trial.

“A strong message needs to continue to be sent by the court that this kind of criminal behaviour is not dealt with lightly,” Crown prosecutor Sue Bogle said at last week’s sentencing hearing.

“Given the prevalence of this type of assault in the North, deterrence and denunciation is the primary principle of sentencing,” she said.

Case law in the Yukon has established a range of one year to 30 months for sexual assaults against sleeping or unconscious victims.

Bogle sought between 26 and 28 months, while Leblanc’s lawyer, André Roothman, argued for 14 to 18 months.

The victim, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, and Leblanc were good friends up until the offence.

In the summer of 2013, they’d see each other almost daily. Leblanc was close friends with the victim’s then-boyfriend.

Gower described the circumstances of the offence, as determined at trial.

One night in August of that year, Leblanc picked the young woman up from her home at about 8:30 p.m. and drove out to Fish Lake, where they drank beers and smoked marijuana with a group of friends.

When they left, the woman asked Leblanc to drop her off at home. He encouraged her to come to a bar with the group instead.

At a downtown bar, Leblanc told the woman that her boyfriend, who wasn’t with them that night and had asked her for some space, didn’t deserve her and that he was probably with another woman that very evening.

If they broke up, Leblanc would want to date her, he said. She told him to stop, that she needed him to be her friend.

When they left the bar, Leblanc said she could crash at his house nearby.

She had limited options, said Bogle. It would have taken her an hour to walk home and she didn’t want to go to her boyfriend’s house because of his request for space.

Though she had some concerns about Leblanc’s behaviour, she didn’t think he was serious – he never acted like this sober. Plus, she’d stayed at his house before with her boyfriend.

“In the end, she relied on the strength of her friendship with Matt Leblanc,” said Bogle.

While walking to his house, he tried to kiss her and she told him to stop, saying, “You know I don’t want that.”

He apologized. He said he’d leave her alone and she could crash on his couch.

Once at his house, he got into his bed and she fell asleep, fully clothed, on the couch.

She woke up to find Leblanc on top of her. Her pants and underwear had been pulled down and he was raping her.

“What the f***, man?” the woman said. “What are you doing?”

She began crying and pushing on his chest, but he grabbed her arms and held them down. He bit her on the neck, hard enough to leave a bruise, and told her he was sorry, that she was “too cute.”

“There was no doubt that this is what he wanted the whole evening,” said Bogle.

“When she fell asleep, that’s when he took advantage of the situation. He was not going to get what he wanted willingly, with her consent.”

Leblanc stopped when she said she’d tell her boyfriend what happened. He got up, threw her phone at her, and told her to tell her boyfriend that she and Leblanc were in love.

“Frightened and not knowing what else to do, (she) followed these demands and made the call,” Gower said Friday.

When she had the chance, the woman ran to her boyfriend’s home in Riverdale. She went to Whitehorse General Hospital next day, where she was examined and tested for sexually-transmitted diseases.

The young woman, who was present at the sentencing hearing with her family, said in a victim impact statement the assault has affected her whole personality.

She’s much less social now, and has developed insecurities and trust issues. She said she takes daily medication to function and has continued pain and discomfort during urination and sex.

“She states that she will never have the life she had before the offence,” Gower said.

He determined aggravating factors were that the assault involved a breach of trust, that the victim was asleep and unable to resist or consent, that Leblanc didn’t stop immediately, and that he left bruising both on her neck and her perineal area.

As well, the assault involved full penetration, leading to “heightened physical and emotional trauma,” and Leblanc didn’t use a condom, Gower added.

Leblanc’s young age, his lack of a prior criminal record, and family support are mitigating factors, Gower said.

Until last year, Leblanc worked with children with disabilities. Friends say he’s patient and has a big heart. They’ve never known him to be violent.

This description, compared to what he was convicted of, is a “day-and-night situation,” said Roothman.

“The threshold of his impulses that night was significantly affected by his consumption of alcohol,” the defence lawyer said.

But Gower said he had several concerns after reading the pre-sentence report, a document written about an offender to provide context for sentencing.

Leblanc demonstrates a “ruminative hostility” toward women, “beyond what would reasonably be expected in the circumstances,” the report writer found.

He said the female Crown prosecutor at trial was sexist and the judge believed the victim because she’s a “little girl.”

“We have significant victim-blaming and system-blaming,” Bogle said, adding that Leblanc referred to the verdict as a “bullsh** conviction.”

But Leblanc maintains his innocence, so his lack of remorse is unsurprising, Roothman said. He said his client may appeal.

“If he’s really innocent, then he’s got a right to be angry. That shouldn’t be held against him.”

Gower acknowledged Leblanc’s right to appeal, and said his lack of remorse was a neutral factor in sentencing.

But he said he’s concerned about the fact that Leblanc said in the report he has little to no issues with drugs or alcohol, though he’ll drink 15 beers in four hours about once a month and smoke marijuana three times a week. Sometimes he’ll drive while high.

If Leblanc doesn’t think he has a substance abuse problem, the risk of him committing another offence under the influence remains, Gower said.

Leblanc must give a DNA sample, will be entered into the national sex offender registry for 20 years and is prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years.