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Images of the unprovoked stabbing of a jail guard by a prisoner were shown in a Dartmouth provincial courtroom Thursday.

The stabbing was captured on a surveillance video, which was played during the sentencing hearing for John Roderick Fraser, 21, of New Glasgow. He received a five-year sentence.

Fraser had admitted to uttering a threat to cause death to a corrections officer, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and endangering the life of a corrections officer, as well as damaging a jail surveillance camera and violating an undertaking.

But Capt. Todd Henwood does not have to watch the video to remember the attack.

"I have a scar on my abdomen that will be a daily reminder of getting stabbed at work," the guard wrote in a victim impact statement that was read in court Thursday.

The married father of three young daughters has had to give up coaching high school football as a result of the attack.

"I feel guilty for having let this happen, but I don’t know what I could have done," he wrote.

He’s also concerned about the stress and worry the incident has caused his family.

The attack occurred Aug. 7 at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility in Dartmouth. Fraser was a prisoner in an area known to house violent inmates, said Crown attorney Terri Lipton.

It was about 12:10 p.m., and Henwood and another guard were doing checks. All 16 inmates were required to stand outside the doors of their cells while the guards looked inside.

The video shows Henwood walking along two rows of cells before Fraser winds up and stabs a pen into Henwood’s abdomen. Henwood and the second guard quickly back away from Fraser, who continues lunging at Henwood.

Lipton said the attack lasted 30 seconds before Henwood and his partner got Fraser back into his cell and closed the door.

Guards later found the phrase "remember Aug. 7, 2010" written on the wall of Fraser’s cell.

As a result of the attack, Nova Scotia’s prison guards are now required to wear protective vests when dealing with inmates.

In his statement, Henwood said he had not met Fraser before the attack.

Defence lawyer Patricia Jones told the court her client was feeling paranoid and believed he’d heard the guard call him a rat. Fraser now realizes stabbing Henwood was an overreaction, Jones said.

Earlier this month, The Chronicle Herald reported that the attack was the result of a hit ordered by a high-profile inmate who had a run-in with Henwood earlier in the summer.

There was no mention of this during sentencing.

Fraser was in the Burnside jail awaiting trial on 10 charges from another stabbing, including aggravated assault, assault, forcible confinement and uttering threats.

He has no relationship with his parents, grew up mostly in group homes and has attention deficit disorder, court was told.

Although not present for the sentencing, Fraser has the support of a sister, grandmother and a girlfriend who is expecting their child in October, Jones said.

She also told the court that her client hopes to be sent to the maximum security Atlantic Institution in Renous, N.B.

"I would like to go up and start my program, the violence program, and a couple of other programs," Fraser told sentencing Judge Flora Buchan, but that decision will be made by Correctional Service Canada.

Fraser has been held in segregation since the attack. On Aug. 8, he caused $300 damage to a surveillance camera in his cell.

Besides the five-year sentence, Fraser’s DNA will be entered into a national registry and he is banned from owning weapons for life.

In the meantime, Henwood is still struggling with the after-effects of the stabbing, court was told.

"I don’t know if I can return to work without being paranoid and judgmental," he wrote in his statement.

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