A Penticton man is spending the next three months in jail after sending a sexually explicit photo to a young South Okanagan woman.
Shaun David Randall, 31, pleaded guilty in Penticton court on Tuesday to making sexually explicit material available to someone under the age of 16.
The teen’s mother read an impact statement written by the victim to the court.
“I know now that what happened is not my fault. I am a child and Shaun is an adult. I know some of my choices put me in a dangerous position and I have to live with that, but Shaun was the adult. It’s his responsibility to know right from wrong and he didn’t,” she said. “I am writing this letter for myself and other victims who do not have a voice or were too scared to tell the truth because they thought it was their fault or that they might get in trouble.”
The statement outlined the anxiety the teen was struggling with, a condition amplified by the events which transpired leading to the victim’s admission into the hospital multiple times.
“I have a constant fear that was never there before. Fear of everything and nothing,” the teen wrote.
Crown counsel Andrew Vandersluys quoted from the pre-sentence report which noted Randall has “limited insight in terms of his offending behaviour.”
“(Randall) seems to have a lack of insight into how the victim could be impacted and blames her. He believes she took advantage of him and the situation,” Vandersluys quoted from the report.
“Young people, and people of all ages I guess, can get themselves extremely grieved by simply pushing send or clicking a mouse, that’s indicated in what happened here. The victim, who was an emotionally fragile child of 13 when this offence occurred, has had their condition exacerbated by what occurred,” said Judge Gail Sinclair while handing down the three-month jail sentence.
Between Oct. 23 and 27, 2014, Randall met the victim, and her friend, and purchased them e-cigarettes on two occasions. The victim and Randall continued to communicate online via Facebook and text messages. The two exchanged nude photos. The victim’s mother later discovered the messages and photos on her child’s phone.
Randall was 29 at the time of the offence and apologized to the victim and her family who attended the sentencing hearing.
Defence counsel Norman Yates called the offence a “one-time” situation noting Randall’s lack of a criminal record and his compliance with two years of “strict” bail conditions.
“There is no evidence or reason for the court to believe that Shaun had ever done anything like this before or since, or would ever do it again,” Yates said.
Yates noted Randall is “profoundly embarrassed and it has affected all aspects of his life. He’s profoundly embarrassed for what happened. He had limited insight when it happened, but he has tremendous insight now into how serious his behaviour was.”
Vandersluys recommended four months in jail, while defence asked for the mandatory minimum 30 days. It was settled at three months jail and two years probation.
“This offence has had a profound negative impact on both (the victim) and her family, that is brought home graphically by the victim impact statements,” Sinclair said.
After completing his sentence he will still be prohibited from being within 100 metres of the victim and the victim’s families’ school, workplace or residence. Randall was also prohibited from possessing any electronic device which connects to the Internet that doesn’t directly relate to his employment or having an Internet connection at home.
