A Fort St. James man was sentenced Friday to a 2 1/2 years in jail followed by two years probation for repeatedly sexually molesting his stepdaughter for about five years, starting from the time she was nine or 10 years old.
In reading out his decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Patrice Abrioux recounted several incidents that first began in early 2007 and lasted until the girl told a camp councillor in summer 2014. Police were notified shortly afterwards.
In August, the man, whose name cannot be printed under a court-ordered publication ban against information that could identify the victim, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual interference of a person under 16 shortly after the stepdaughter had testified at a trial but had not yet gone through cross examination.
He maintained there were not as many incidents as described by the victim "but he acknowledged there were several incidents of sexual touching," Abrioux said.
Abrioux found the man showed a lack of insight into his actions but accepted he felt genuine remorse and has taken real steps towards rehabilitation in the time he's been in custody.
Crown had argued for three to five years in prison while defence contended two years less a day followed by two years probation was appropriate. Abrioux found the term he issued fell within the range given by other judges for similar cases.
Oddly, after charges were laid, the man breached the terms of his bail when he moved back into the home for two weeks. That the mother continues to remain in contact with the man has caused a split with the daughter, Abrioux noted.
He served a 90-day sentence for that offence but was denied bail after that and has remained in custody ever since. As such, he received credit for 13 1/2 months time served prior to sentencing, which means he has a further 16 1/2 months to serve.
The terms of probation include taking counselling as directed. The man is also prohibited from contacting the victim for the duration of the sentence. And his name will also be on the national sex offender registry for 20 years.
