Jarret Lautsch

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CONTENT ADVISORY - This article deals with intimate partner violence

More than six months after Jarret Lautsch's ex-partner moved into a women's shelter because of his violence, she agreed to let him pick her up from the Vernon hospital.

Lautsch drove his ex, whose name is covered under a court-ordered publication ban, back to his place in Enderby, but then would not let her leave.

What followed was a terrifying 12-hour ordeal.

He trapped her in the bedroom, tying her hands and ankles together with zip ties, assaulted her and threatened her with a knife.

At one point, he shoved a sex toy down her throat.

On Jul. 21, BC Provincial Court Judge Jeremy Guild sentenced Lautsch to six years in jail.

"The assault was continuing and degrading... it involved threats of death, rape and physical harm not only to the victim, but to their child and broader family. Mr. Lautsch made the threats while holding and assaulting her with a knife," the judge said in a July 21 decision.

The decision said Lautsch and the victim had been together since 2020 and had a child together. She didn't report the domestic abuse to the police, but the Ministry for Children and Family Development became involved and she moved into a women's shelter. Lautsch was barred from seeing his child.

In October 2023, Lautsch picked the victim up from the hospital and headed back to his place.

The evening began OK and they drank some alcohol and listened to music, but things changed when the victim wanted to go to bed alone.

"Lautsch’s demeanour changed," the judge said.

He swore at her and told her to leave, but when she tried, he barricaded the front door with the couch and pushed her into the bedroom. He then removed the pins from the bedroom door to prevent her from locking him out.

"Mr. Lautsch’s eyes and voice changed. He began speaking in third person and telling her he had a personality disorder. He would ask her questions and speak about himself in the third person. If Mr. Lautsch did not like what she said, or she did not follow his commands, he would poke her in the forehead, slap her face, and at times, push her on the bed, sit on her chest and press his forearm against her collarbone, or strangle her," the judge said. "Mr. Lautsch frequently told (her) things like she was 'gonna learn who’s in control here, it’s not you, give up, you’re not getting out of here, we’re not getting out of this, forget about our (child, they’re) not going to remember us.'"

She tried to flee several times, but Lautsch tied her hands and ankles with zip-ties.

"Mr. Lautsch rarely left her side over the course of the night. If he did, he tied her to a vanity in the room. Mr. Lautsch would pretend to fall asleep on the bed and as soon as (she) made a move to leave he would 'wake' and punish her by assaulting her. He assaulted her throughout the night, many times holding the steak knife in his hand while assaulting her or threatening her," Judge Guild said.

He told her he was going to rape her or commit murder suicide.

"Mr. Lautsch contemplated out loud the best ways to kill them both, including slitting their throats. He told her that they were never getting out of there because he did not want her to call the police," the judge said.

The decision said she was so terrified she peed on the bedroom floor. After that, Lautsch took her to the bathroom.

On one trip to the bathroom, the victim managed to swipe some nail clippers. She hid them under her pillow and waited until Lautsch was asleep.

She cut the zip ties off and slowly crept off the bed, before running out of the house and banging on a neighbour's door. It was 10:30 a.m. the next day.

The police promptly arrested Lautsch, who has been behind bars ever since.

In a victim impact statement, the ex-partner said she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and the assault has left her in chronic physical pain.

"Unsurprisingly, she said she could not put into words how significantly the assault on her body, mind and spirit impacted every aspect of her life," the judge said. "A year after the assaults, she had not entirely healed physically from the injuries to her ribs, chest and spine."

The judge said despite what happened, she was steadfast in her resolve to heal and move forward with her life.

The decision said in the weeks prior to the attack, Lautsch had attempted suicide twice and been apprehended under the Mental Health Act.

Lautsch pleaded guilty and expressed genuine remorse several times for what he did.

The decision said he was sexually and physically abused when he was young, struggled with alcoholism, and has some insight into his offending.

"He knows it seems to have happened when he became his self-described alter ego, although that persona was not evident for many years," the decision reads.

However, Judge Guild found he'd originally confined his ex and gotten the knife when he was not in a dissociative state.

"I find his overall moral responsibility is not significantly diminished," the judge said.

With time already spent in custody, Lautsch will spend the next three-and-a-half years in jail.

NOTE TO READERS: To connect with a victim service program or violence against women program call VictimLink BC at 1-800-563-0808. VictimLink BC provides information and referrals to all victims, as well as immediate crisis response to victims of sexual and family violence.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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