A 52-year-old man who lived in Surrey with his girlfriend and her children has been sentenced to two years in prison after being found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl.
“He was the only father figure in the children’s lives and he took advantage of that trust for his own sexual gratification,” Justice Warren Milman said. “He used the fear that he cultivated in the children as one of their parents to discourage disclosure of what was occurring.”
The man, whose name is shielded by a publication ban to protect the identity of his victim, was found guilty in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster of sexual interference with a person under the age of 16.
Milman said the offender took on a “parenting role” as the children’s dad was not in regular contact with them.
“He had an authoritarian parenting style,” the judge noted. “He encouraged the children to fear him and they did.”
The court heard the man molested the girl when she was ages nine to 11. While he was living in the home, Milman said, the girl “did as she was told and kept these events to herself.”
After he left the house for good, the victim told school friends what happened. “They encouraged her to report what she had told them to the school counsellor, which she did. This led to a report to the police, culminating with the charges that are the subject of this proceeding.”
In her victim impact statement the girl told the court she suffers from nightmares.
“She says she is also uncomfortable being around older men because they make her fear that she will be victimized again in the same way,” Milman said in his reasons for sentencing. “Although she and her family continue to live in the same house, they feel uncomfortable there and avoid the places associated with the incidents in issue.”
The judge gave the offender 234 days credit for time served. The remaining prison time he must serve is one year and 131 days. He will also be on probation for one year after he’s released.
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