Jason Stoodley
Image Credit: FACEBOOK
June 04, 2024 - 6:00 PM
Crown prosecutors are appealing the sentence for a Kelowna fire captain who was given 40 hours of community service after being found guilty of filming a teenaged girl in the shower.
The BC Prosecution Service said the judge's decision to give former Kelowna fire captain Jason Stoodley such a sentence was "demonstrably unfit" pointing out the girl was 16 years old at the time and he was in a position of trust.
In early 2023, Stoodley pleaded guilty to filming the teen in the shower.
Video footage played in the courtroom showed the former fire captain pointing his cell phone through a glass window above the bathroom door. He then puts his hands into his shorts.
The teen had grown suspicious something wasn't right and set up her cell phone to film while she went into the bathroom and took a shower.
No explanation was ever given in court as to why the 16-year-old had suspicions.
The girl's name is covered under a court-ordered publication ban and iNFOnews.ca has been purposely vague about some details to protect her identity.
Crown prosecutors had asked for three to six months jail time for Stoodley, but instead BC Provincial Court Judge Nicholas Preovolos granted him a conditional discharge – meaning he wouldn't get a criminal record providing he passed 18-months probation.
He was ordered to do 40 hours of community service and put forward an offer of a $2,500 Victim Surcharge. Court-ordered victim surcharges normally range between $100 and $200 with the money going towards helping victims of crime, not the individual.
In handing out the sentence to the then 51-year-old Stoodley, the judge said he was at a low risk of reoffending and had genuine remorse.
The court heard how the former firefighter lost his $120,000 a year job after he was charged and had become depressed and had suicidal ideation. He had little contact with his two adult daughters who were both at university.
Judge Preovolos highlighted Stoodley's struggles with PTSD following two decades as a firefighter and years in the Canadian military.
Stoodley called his conduct "inhumane" and said he was ashamed and remorseful.
A decision on whether the Crown's appeal of the sentence is successful will be heard later this month.
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