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Waiting to be sentenced for failing to provide the necessaries of life in the death of his nearly 19-month-old son, David Stephan says he still doesn't understand exactly what a jury found him guilty of doing.

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The court was told the couple thought their toddler was suffering from croup or the flu and spent more than two weeks treating him with remedies like hot peppers, garlic, onions and horseradish, even though a family friend who was a nurse told them she thought Ezekiel had meningitis.

They eventually took the toddler from their rural home in southern Alberta to a naturopathic clinic in Lethbridge to pick up an echinacea mixture. At the time, Ezekiel was too stiff to ride in a car seat and had to lie on a mattress in the vehicle.

"It could have been as small as a few minutes' delay in rushing him to the ambulance to maybe they believe the evidence that he had bacterial meningitis and not viral meningitis … and that they may have found us guilty for actually causing his death," said Stephan.

"It's not likely based on the information and evidence that came forward in the court, but that's how wide and varying it can be and each jury member could have found us guilty on a different element — so that's where it's tough as well, depending on what the individual jury member's opinion was."

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Stephan posted a letter on social media to the jury following its verdict, saying it sets a dangerous precedent.

"The floodgates have now been opened, and if we do not fall in line with parenting as seen fit by the government we all stand at risk of criminal prosecution," he wrote.