WARNING: This article involves details of child sexual assault.
Arguments in the sentencing of a registered sex offender who admitted to assaulting a toddler in Welland, Ont., are centered around the use of a weapon during the assault, influencing the potential length of Daniel Senecal’s prison term.
The final presentations by Crown attorney Michal Sokolski and defense lawyer Michael Peterson revolve around whether a weapon was involved in the sexual assault. The sentencing process started in July and concluded on Tuesday at the St. Catharines court.
Justice David Andrew Thomas will make the decision regarding the 26-year-old Senecal’s fate next month.
Senecal pleaded guilty on June 23 to various charges, including breaking and entering, aggravated sexual assault on a minor, sexual interference, assault by choking, breaching probation, and possessing child sexual exploitation material.
The identity of the victim, who was 3 years old at the time of the offenses, is protected by a publication ban.
Arrested Following Break-in at Girl’s Residence
On the night of Aug. 30, 2025, Senecal, after consuming alcohol, forcibly entered the girl’s home and sexually assaulted her between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. ET the next day, as disclosed by the Crown in late June.
Senecal was apprehended on Aug. 31 in his backyard after authorities responded to a medical assistance call concerning a child in Welland.
In late June, the court learned about the severe injuries sustained by the child, discovered by her mother on the morning of Aug. 31.
Assistant Crown attorney Todd Morris stated that following the assault, the victim was taken to McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, where medical professionals linked the injuries to forceful actions and strangulation.
Sokolski contended on Tuesday that evidence, including images of Senecal breaking into the house and statements from his roommate and a physician, suggests the use of a weapon in the assault.
Senecal’s roommate, Brittany Duclos-Robins, informed the court in July that Senecal confessed to using a weapon the morning after breaking into the residence, a detail she shared with the authorities 11 days after the incident.
Peterson raised doubts about the roommate’s testimony, implying that she heard about the weapon from external sources and reported it to the police to distance herself from public criticism labeling her as a “monster” and “pedophile.”
Dr. Valerie Bloomfield, an expert in pediatric and adolescent gynecology, provided testimony on Aug. 24.
She stated that she was called to McMaster Children’s Hospital on Aug. 31, 2025, to evaluate the victim, forming opinions on the injuries before being informed of allegations involving a weapon and relying on her professional judgment.
Peterson argued that, according to the doctor’s account, the injuries could have occurred without the use of a weapon.
Probation Status During 2024 Offenses
At the time of the August 2024 crimes, Senecal was on probation following a “violent” sexual assault on a 12-year-old boy in 2021
