Sentencing for a now 75-year-old McBride man convicted of sexually exploiting a teenage girl will be delayed to allow arguments on whether he should be sent to jail.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale agreed Wednesday to hear arguments at a later date on whether time behind bars would be cruel and unusual given the man's age and circumstances.
At the time it was committed, the mandatory minimum for the offence was 45 days in jail.
During a hearing at the courthouse, defence counsel Keith Jones argued the jail time would violate the man's Charter rights given his age, the fact he's never been in jail before, and his role as the breadwinner for his wife and son.
Jones said the mandatory minimum precludes any sort of community disposition and said he will seek something in the order of six to nine months. It could come in the form of house arrest with a curfew or probation with a suspended sentence.
Crown counsel Geoffrey McDonald raised concerns about the time it's taken to deal with the matter so far and whether Jones' application will succeed given the seriousness of the offence.
However, Tindale found it's an issue worth considering in further detail, noting he cannot say it's a frivolous application, and allowed more time for the sides to prepare fuller arguments on Jones' application.
The man's name cannot be published under a court-ordered publication ban against information that would identify the victim.
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