A Seattle cross-country ski coach facing 10 charges for allegedly placing a camera in the room of girls on a trip to Silver Star Mountain Resort in December 2013 will be sentenced on three counts.
Jason Christopher Paur entered guilty pleas in Vernon Provincial Court on Jan. 12 to two counts of secretly observing/recording nudity and one count of possession of child pornography.
Seven other counts have been stayed.
Paur had been a coach and chaperone for a Seattle-area private school which was on a cross-country ski trip to Silver Star in December 2013.
He was arrested after the discovery of a video camera allegedly belonging to him, found by students in a room occupied by girls at Silver Star.
Paur was charged with 10 counts and has been incarcerated in Canada since his arrest.
He originally pleaded not guilty to all 10 counts and a trial on the matter was slated for January in Vernon Provincial Court.
On. Jan. 12, Paur pleaded guilty to three counts and his lawyer, Richard Barton, called for time already served upon sentencing.
Barton also requested a publication ban preventing matters from the Jan. 12 appearance and all subsequent appearances from being reported in the media, as his client is facing similar charges in the U.S. upon his return.
Barton argued for the ban stating his client “would not receive a fair trial” in the U.S. due to media coverage of his Canadian legal woes.
A temporary publication ban was granted Jan. 12 by provincial court Judge L. Wyatt.
Three media outlets, including The Morning Star, appeared before provincial court judge M. Takahashi on Jan. 28 to oppose the temporary ban.
Takahaski, in a six-page decision, wrote, “Securing a publication ban in Washington State is an available and potentially reasonable alternative to a ban in B.C. Since there is a reasonable alternative to a publication ban, the application (for a ban on Canadian proceedings) will not be granted.”
Takahashi ordered the temporary ban imposed on Jan. 12 remain in effect until Feb. 13, “to allow time for Mr. Paur to apply for a publication ban in the U.S.”
A date for sentencing on the Silver Star matter has not been set.
