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Stepfather sentenced for sexual touching

A 46-year-old Prince George man was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for sexually touching two young girls while they were living with him and his spouse.
court verdict

A 46-year-old Prince George man was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for sexually touching two young girls while they were living with him and his spouse.

The man, who cannot be named under a court-ordered publication ban, committed the acts over a 22-month period beginning in Jan. 1, 2003. One victim was a step daughter and the other a niece of the spouse and they were about eight or nine years old.

During a trial, one girl described a chaotic home life in which the two adults constantly fought. The man drank regularly and the woman constantly smoked marijuana and there was never much structure or function in the home.

The other girl testified the incidents were "pretty much the same routine" and she learned to keep quiet about the man's acts. "What could I do? I probably weighed 60 pounds."

The acts stopped when they moved into another home where three other relatives were also living, the court heard.

In 2006, when the one girl was 10 or 11 and the other was 11 or 12, the two left the home and went to the Prince George Native Friendship Centre where they were interviewed before they were placed in separate group homes. Neither returned to live with the man and woman and avoided contact with them.

The incidents continued to bother one of the girls and in March 2012 she gave a statement to the RCMP. By the time the case went to trial in March 2015, the girls were 19 and 20 years old.

In accepting a joint submission on sentencing from Crown and defence counsels, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale listed a handful of aggravating factors, beginning with the girls' ages, the man's use of physical force and threats to get his way and a criminal record that includes past convictions for similar offences, one involving a 10-year-old girl.

In terms of mitigating factors, the man was the subject of sexual and physical abuse when he was growing up and he accepted responsibility and expressed remorse for his actions.

When given a chance to speak prior to sentencing, the man vowed to work on correcting his deviancy, tame his demons and work on his rehabilitation "to alleviate the stress upon society upon my release."

The man, who continues to face a charge of allegedly sexually assaulting his girlfriend, received credit for

16 months time served prior to sentencing, which means he will serve a further 44 months before the sentence is over.