Warning: This article contains details that may be disturbing and triggering to readers. A 23-year-old man who lied about his age when he supplied alcohol to a teenage girl and sexually violated her is asking an Orillia judge not to send him to prison. The Crown wants child sexual abuser Ty Arends, 23, to spend three years in prison for forcing non-consensual sexual intercourse on a 14-year-old girl who believed Arends was 17 in 2024 when, in fact, he was about to turn 21. The teen told the court, in her victim impact statement during the sentencing hearing Wednesday in Orillia, of the trauma she has experienced since Arends, who is from Severn Township., took advantage of while she was drunk and vulnerable. “I am scared about the offender trying to contact me and people he met through me,” said the complainant in her statement read by the Crown. The teen testified that she and her friends were often picked up and driven around by Arends, who supplied them alcohol, then forced himself on her when she was intoxicated at his home. The girls were between 13 and 15 at the time and were told by Arends he was 17. The teen told the court she has struggled with depression and an eating disorder since the incidents. Arends pleaded guilty in April to sexual interference, admitting to sexually violating the girl on at least two occasions. The court heard Arends picked the girl up, carried her to his bed and pinned her down and removed her clothing while she tried to break free, then sexually abused her. “He knew how old they were, and said that he didn’t care,” argued the Crown, who said Arends continued to spend time with the girls, who were about seven years younger than him. The prosecution told Justice Stacey Nichols that Arends tried to groom the girls, putting his hands on two of them and trying to cuddle, kiss and grab them sexually. All three girls testified about what they experienced in their interactions with Arends during his preliminary hearing ahead of the guilty plea five months ago. The Crown is asking Arends be placed on the sex offender registry for 20 years and be banned from having weapons on him for 10 years. The defence said Arends has been diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum and that he has significant cognitive issues and mental health concerns. An assessment provided to the court found he is considered a “low risk” when supported and supervised. He has been out on bail since October 2024, following his release after spending five days in custody. The Crown argued the assessor, who authored the report cited in the sentencing hearing, said Arends tried to minimize his actions, and that he may not fully understand the consequences of his behaviour. The defence is seeking a conditional sentence of two years less a day under strict house arrest conditions, followed by three years of probation, with counselling and treatment. His lawyer Daniella Guido said Arends has had lifelong neurodevelopment issues, calling him “not an ordinarily functioning adult,” as he lives with cognitive and social limitations. Arends’ handwritten letter was read to the court by his lawyer. He apologized for his actions, asking for a second chance. “I am sorry for everything, and I am working every day to better myself,” he said. Arends left the courthouse wearing a toque, sunglasses, and a medical mask to cover his face. Justice Nichols is scheduled to sentence Arends in November.
