Lethbridge man sentenced for sexually touching underaged girls

The 44-year-old was found guilty earlier this year of two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference, and one count of common assault. He had also plead guilty to two counts of breaching his probation orders.

The convictions for sexual assault were stayed because he can not be sentenced twice for the same matter.

In the summer and fall of 2018, the 44-year-old was dating the mother of the two girls, aged 12 and 14 at the time.

The 12-year-old testified in the trial, stating that the man sat next to her in her bedroom and used both of his hands to pull her tank top and bra down, and then proceeded to grab both of her breasts.

The 14-year-old explained that she had been sexually touched by the 44-year-old on two separate occasions.

In the first, the man came downstairs to her bedroom and laid down next to her. The man moved his arm under the covers and placed it on her exposed breast.

The second incident happened a few months later while the mom and the 44-year-old were drinking and playing cards in the garage. The 14-year-old sat down at the table and the man placed his hand on her leg, moving it up between her knee and hips.

The 12-member jury convicted the 44-year-old in March 2021.

At the sentencing hearing, Crown Prosecutor Dawn Janecke asked for a global sentence of six to seven years.

She brought up the fact that the 44-year-old has a criminal record that includes one conviction for a similar sex-related matter as well as several instances of him breaching his probation and release terms.

Defense Attorney Greg White, however, believed that a period of three years of incarceration would be more appropriate.

White detailed the 44-year-old’s troubled upbringing, which includes being abused and not wanted by his parents, being sexually abused by his uncle, being homeless in Calgary for several years, and possibly having brain damage from a motorcycle accident, although that has never been confirmed.

The 44-year-old has also struggled with alcohol addiction for much of his life.

Justice Gates, while being sympathetic to the man’s rough upbringing, was stern in informing him that this does not excuse his actions decades later.

The judge spoke directly to the man, telling him that he is in his 40’s, and most people who had difficult childhoods would “smarten up” during their adult years and start to make better decisions.

Brought to tears, the 44-year-old assured that this would be the last time he would be called before the courts and committed to addressing the personal issues he has been facing for much of his life.

He apologized to the victims and their parents, assuring them that he would use his time in custody to seek treatment and start to take his life more seriously.

Justice Gates sentenced the 44-year-old to five years and nine months in prison.

He was given 338 days of credit for time already served.

There were also another three months of “enhanced credit” for having endured harsher conditions while in the Lethbridge and Calgary remand centres due to COVID-19 lockdowns.

With those credits in mind, the 44-year-old has another four years and 10 months left to serve.

He will be placed on the national sex offender registry for life, have a lifetime firearms prohibition, maintain no contact with the victims during his incarceration, and have a lifetime ban on having any contact with people under the age of 16 unless it is with an approved supervisor.

by David Opinko

Lethbridge man sentenced for sexually touching underaged girls

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