Sask. man who didn't want his daughter to get COVID-19 shots found guilty of abduction

The trial of a Carievale, Sask., man charged with abducting his daughter ended Friday with a jury finding him guilty.

Court heard Michael Gordon Jackson failed to return his seven-year-old daughter to the care of her mother, who had primary custody, after a long-weekend visit in November 2021.

Jackson, who represented himself at the trial in Regina Court of King's Bench, had told the jury his only intention was to prevent his daughter from getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Jackson said he believed the vaccine would harm his daughter and claimed the mother did not let him know her views on the vaccine for months.

The Crown argued that Jackson's goal of keeping his daughter unvaccinated meant that he purposely kept the girl away from her mother. The prosecutor also said there is no doubt Jackson made his concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine clear, but the girl's mother had the final say.

After the mother told Jackson that she planned to get their daughter vaccinated, he decided to "take the law into his own hands" and keep her, the Crown said.

The jury began its deliberations Friday morning and reached a verdict less than three hours later.

Jackson was released with conditions. His sentencing date is to be determined.