A Watson Lake man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping his former girlfriend has avoided a federal prison sentence.

Last month, Randy Lutz was sentenced to 32 months in jail.

With credit for the time he has already served, the 27-year-old has about 17 months left in his sentence, time he will spend at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre.

The Crown had been seeking an overall sentence of 3 1/2 years left to spend in a federal prison.

According to the agreed statement of facts filed in the case, Lutz had spent the night of Dec. 20, 2011 with Tanya Charlie, and other family members at her sister's home.

He wanted to leave, but she chose to stay.

Lutz attempted to drag the woman out of the house and across the yard but was stopped by her sister.

Shortly after midnight, Lutz left the house by foot and Charlie stayed behind.

He then walked to his mother's house and demanded to be driven back.

The documents say Lutz threatened to "beat up” his mother and her common-law spouse if they did not drive him.

Lutz has a lengthy criminal record — 22 convictions since the summer of 2008 — including assault charges involving his mother, her spouse, Charlie and other family members.

When they arrived back at the first house, Charlie's sister answered the door, told Lutz to leave and attempted to close the door.

"At that point, the accused pushed past her, grabbing the cordless phone from her,” the documents say.

"He pushed the door hard enough that the door handle left a hole in the drywall where it impacted.”

Lutz then went upstairs, dragged Charlie downstairs and pushed her to the car.

The pair were then driven back to their apartment.

Police immediately responded to the address.

"Fearing for the safety of Tanya Charlie, police broke through the door. They located Tanya Charlie and the accused in the shower,” the statement says.

Lutz was belligerent while being arrested. He later gave a statement to police.

"During that statement, the accused advised police that he was angry with the complainant because she is supposed to be with him and she should have gone with him,” court documents say.

"He admitted to dragging her down the stairs and to hitting her in the face ‘really hard.'”

In his decision, released last week, territorial court judge Donald Luther agreed with the Crown that people should feel safe in their home.

"Here, both the offender's mother, her boyfriend and the offender's partner, her sister and two-year-old son, witnessed the extreme aggression of the offender in the residences wherein they should have felt safe,” the judge said.

Lutz's lawyer expressed concerns over him doing time in a federal penitentiary with hardened criminals and being away from his family.

Luther notes that Lutz has a troubled family history, is receiving counselling and "one day, he hopes to be forgiven by those whom he has hurt.”

He notes that intellectually, Lutz functions at a fairly low level.

"Taking into account all the factors in this case, the offender's background and his present outlook, the lack of physical injuries to the victims, it is my view that the interests of justice are best served by a jail sentence...” the judge said.

Lutz will be on probation for another three years after his release.