A Tsay Keh Dene man was sentenced Friday to a further two years less a day in jail followed by three years probation for sexually assaulting an an eight-year-old girl.
The term was issued to Timothy Poole, 39, in relation to an August 2014 incident during a drinking party in a cabin in the vicinity of the First Nations community at the north end of Williston Lake.
The girl was "essentially a stranger" to Poole, the court heard, raising the possibility that "any child could have been vulnerable or been a potential victim if they were found in the same circumstances."
The sentence comes on top of the 341 days Poole has already spent in custody and is the maximum that can be served in a provincial institution.
The idea is to get Poole into the sexual offender treatment program at the Ford Mountain Correctional Centre in Chilliwack. The program lasts six months but inmates must typically wait about a year before they can start because there is a waiting list.
If he does not get into the program by the time the jail term is up, he must serve his probation in a community where the program is available outside of custody.
Poole has an extensive criminal record of 18 prior convictions, including two for assault and one for assault with a weapon as well as for four counts of drunk driving. He also breached his bail twice while awaiting trial on the most recent matter.
However it is the first time Poole, a married father of two teenagers and a grown stepdaughter who has a child of her own, has been convicted for a sexual offence.
Alcohol has played a consistent role in his conflicts with the law, the court also heard. Poole was "blind drunk" when he committed the assault on the girl and did not remember what happened, the court was told.
In passing sentence, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Gordon Weatherill described Poole as an alcoholic who would go on binges when he wasn't working. He bluntly urged Poole to abstain from alcohol from now on.
"As an alcoholic, you can never drink again, period," Weatherill told Poole. "There's no choice."
Weatherill also spoke about the impact Poole's actions have had on the victim.
"The trauma she suffered was palpable during her attempts to give evidence during the trial," Weatherill said. "She was frequently tearful and was extremely emotionally distressed."
He said the girl has continued to suffer nightmares and is receiving counseling.
At the least, Poole touched the girl in her naked genitals with his erect penis before trying to move her to a more secluded part of the cabin. At that point, the girl put up a struggle and broke free, the court heard.
Weatherill described the attack as "random and opportunistic," and noted that according to a psychological assessment, Poole had an "egocentric interest in immediate gratification."
Given a chance to speak, Poole said he now acknowledges he has a problem with alcohol and apologized for what happened.
