Former Burns Lake Mayor Luke Strimbold was sentenced Wednesday to two years less a day in jail followed by two years probation on sexual assault charges.
The term was issued in B.C. Supreme Court in Smithers, B.C.
The court recommended Strimbold serve his sentence at the Ford Mountain Provincial Correctional Centre, where there is a sexual offender treatment program, B.C. Prosecution Service spokesman Daniel McLaughlin added in confirming the sentence.
In May, Strimbold pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault involving four boys who were under the age of 16. A pre-sentencing report and a psychological assessment were ordered.
A special prosecutor had previously approved 29 charges against Strimbold, including sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching, that were alleged to have involved six people who were all under the age of 16 at the time.
An indictment shows the assaults he pleaded guilty to occurred between May 2014 and August 2017.
Two years less a day is the maximum amount of time that can be served in a provincial institution while three years is the maximum length of probation that can be issued for a provincial sentence.
In 2011, he became British Columbia's youngest elected mayor when he was elected in Burns Lake, west of Prince George. In September 2016 and part way through his second term, he resigned and in March 2018, Burns Lake RCMP confirmed he had been charged with numerous counts of sexual assault and related offences.
