Image Credit: FILE PHOTO
January 28, 2020 - 2:26 PM
CONTENT ADVISORY
A man guilty of sexual offences involving a woman and her young daughter will be sentenced later this week following a hearing in Kamloops court.
Lawyers met in Kamloops Supreme Court today, Jan. 28, to make a joint sentence submission for Wesley Enock West, 32, who pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference of a person under 16.
Court heard West was a guest at a social gathering at a North Kamloops apartment last March where alcohol was being consumed.
At one point all the guests left and the complainant fell asleep on a recliner chair in the living room, Crown prosecutor Tim Livingston said. The only people left in the apartment was the complainant and her three children.
Livingston said the eldest child was awoken by her younger brother crying and saw West coming into the bedroom. The child said West touched her vagina over and under her underwear.
According to Livingston, this assault between West and the child didn’t last long and West left the bedroom to go out into the living room with the child following after him.
In the living room, Livingston says the child described West as trying to kiss her and she pushed him away with her hands and feet and said ‘no’.
West told the girl to go back to the bedroom but before leaving, she was able to see West pull her mother’s pants down and heard her mother get upset.
Court heard West was trying to perform oral sex on the woman. The complainant told West to leave and called a relative to assist her in getting him out of the apartment as he appeared heavily intoxicated.
The next day, the woman gave a statement to the RCMP and West was arrested on March 28.
Both defence lawyer John Gustafson and Livingston agreed on an 18 month prison sentence for for West. Livingston said the length jail term will allow West access to sex offender treatment while he's in custody.
“This is the lowest jail term that can be put into place here given the criminal history and the offences involved,” Livingston said. “The real hope here is that there can be meaningful change for Mr. West both in custody and out.”
Crown also said West has a previous sex assault conviction from 2018.
West originally comes from a First Nations community near Prince George. Both his mother and his grandmother attended residential schools which led to West's early exposure to alcohol abuse. West’s mother committed suicide and his lawyer says his client suffered from serious affects of intergenerational trauma of residential schools.
Lawyers also submitted West must register for life under the Sexual Offender Information Registration Act and be placed on probation for 18 months following his jail sentence. Some of the conditions of his probation include having no contact with the complainant, abstaining from alcohol and seeking treatment.
Court also heard West was transferred from Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre to Fraser Regional Correctional Centre after being targeted by other inmates. Gustafson says his client essentially “lives in terror” of other inmates assaulting him and tampering with his food and recommended his client serve the remainder of his sentence in Prince George.
West has been in custody since his arrest last year.
Justice Len Marchand will give his reasons for the sentence this Friday.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Karen Edwards or call (250) 819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020