Slain Orillia man’s mother angry one of his killers is moved to medium-security prison

The mother of an Orillia man gunned down inside his home in 2017 says it's a slap in the face that one of the men responsible for her son's death was moved from a maximum to a medium-security prison.

For five years, Diana Simonds has mourned the loss of her son, Joey, who was 34 and a father of three when he was shot and killed.

Brian Quesnel, Martin Forget, and Sonny Brokenshire stood trial for conspiring to kill Joey Simonds following accusations the deceased sexually assaulted a minor related to one of the men.

Simonds was cleared of any wrongdoing related to those allegations.

Quesnel and Forget were sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for another 22 years after being found guilty of first-degree murder. They will be in their mid-60s when they are eligible for parole in 2042.

Brokenshire pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to five years behind bars in exchange for his testimony against Quesnel and Forget.

Diana said Brokenshire had since been released from custody after serving his sentence.

She also said the parole board recently notified her that Brian Quesnel had been transferred to the Beaver Creek Institution in Gravenhurst.

"I don't even understand how somebody can be rewarded good behaviour for murdering someone, especially when he was the gunman. He's the one that pulled the trigger," she said.

"I'm just so sorry that I really thought that I got justice for my son," she added.

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In a statement to CTV News, the Correctional Service of Canada said while it couldn't get into specifics about Quesnel, "all transfers of inmates to lower levels of security occur only after CSC has duly considered public safety."

CTV News Public Safety Analyst and former OPP commissioner Chris Lewis said a prisoner's move to medium-security means he's no longer considered a threat to escape.

"Not in any way to way downplay their sensitivities and their loss and how they must feel about it, and I totally understand that, but they also have to realize this individual is not being released. He's being put in medium-security, which is not a cakewalk either, but it's not maximum."

Still, it's little comfort for Diana.

"It's not fair. They're cold-blooded murderers, and they're getting a slap on the wrist."

She said her three grandchildren still struggle to cope with life without their father.

"I'm still without my son. There's still three children that have no father. He'll never be able to walk his daughter down the aisle," she said.

With files from CTV's Mike Arsalides