By Patrick Burles - @Patrick Burles on Twitter

Sentencing date set for convicted sex offender for 2016 sexual assault

Apr 5, 2017 | 1:23 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty to charges of break and enter and sexual assault in January, will have to wait until July for his sentencing hearing.

After entering a guilty plea on Jan. 4, a pre-sentence report was ordered for Darral Gerard Courtoreille, along with a risk and psychological and psychiatric assessment.

Wednesday morning (Apr. 5) in Lethbridge Provincial Court, the Crown prosecutor explained that the assessments have yet to begin due to a number of other cases that are also moving through the system, and that an additional 60 days would be necessary to complete them.

In a media release from the Lethbridge Police Service, they reported that between 3:00 and 4:00 on the morning of Nov. 7, 2016, a man gained entry to a north side home through a basement door and sexually assaulted a 15-year old girl in her bedroom. The suspect took steps to prevent her from screaming and alerting other members of her family.

Police arrived on scene at 5:14 a.m., cordoned off the area and found a man matching the suspect’s description, and Courtoreille was taken into custody and charged.

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The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for July 6, however, it could be bumped up if the assessments are completed early.

In regards to his criminal history, Courtoreille was released from prison in January of 2004, after serving two years for sexual interference involving a minor. Then in May 2004, he pleaded guilty to another case of sexual interference of a minor. In December that same year, he was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

In December 2005, Courtoreille was released, with Lethbridge police warning that he would be living in the city, and was designated a high-risk offender after he refused to complete a rehabilitation program for sex offenders.