Luke Strimbold, right, enters the Smithers courthouse May 6 with his lawyer Stan Tessmer, to plead guilty to four sexual assault charges. (Trevor Hewitt photo)

Luke Strimbold, right, enters the Smithers courthouse May 6 with his lawyer Stan Tessmer, to plead guilty to four sexual assault charges. (Trevor Hewitt photo)

Sentencing of former Burns Lake mayor’s for sex assault postponed to Nov. 25

The B.C Supreme Court in Smithers set the new date this morning

  • Sep. 23, 2019 12:00 a.m.

A new date of Nov. 25 has been set for sentencing in the sexual assault case of former Burns Lake mayor Luke Strimbold.

Strimbold pleaded guilty on May 6 to four counts of sexual assault against four individuals in British Columbia Supreme Court in Smithers.

Stan Tessmer, Strimbold’s lawyer, said in a statement at the time that Strimbold “chose not to go to trial so everyone involved can begin the healing process and that the four individuals and the community can start to move forward.”

READ MORE: Former Burns Lake mayor pleads guilty to four sex assault charges

Strimbold had been scheduled for sentencing Sept. 23, but the BC Prosecution Service announced Sept. 20 the hearing was postponed to accommodate court scheduling issues.

Neither Mr. Strimbold nor Mr. Tessmer appeared for a hearing Monday to set the new date, but Jeff Campbell, appearing for the Crown by telephone said discussions with the defence indicated the date was agreeable. The clerk of the court confirmed the date had been been scheduled by the court for the sentencing.

Strimbold had faced 29 charges including sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching involving boys under the age of 16, stemming from alleged incidents between May 2009 to July 2017.


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