(ASHLEY LEGASSIC / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - A Kamloops man admitted to inappropriately touching his common law partner's daughter, but he will only have to serve his 90-day jail sentence on weekends.

The 43-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was in a common law relationship with the mother of the complainant at the time. 

Crown prosecutor Laura Drake told the court today, Jan. 5, that in August 2015, the accused and his family were at home watching a movie. The man was cuddled up on a couch next to his nine-year-old step daughter, only identified as J.H., while his partner sat next to her seven-year-old daughter.

Drake says the woman noticed the accused making "weird" motions near his penis. Shortly after, the mother noticed J.H.'s panties had been taken off.

The woman asked her daughter about it, to which she replied she didn't know. But the next day, when the accused was not in the room, the mother asked J.H. again, this time she told her mother the accused took them off.

J.H. told her mother the accused "squished her butt" with his fingers. After hearing that, the mother immediately went to police.

In a statement to officers, the accused admitted to his actions, saying he began by rubbing J.H.'s back, then her thigh, then her bottom. He said he "probably" touched her genitals since his hand was in the area.

Drake said that a pre-sentence report shows the accused has not taken full responsibility for his actions and he is assessed at a low to moderate-low risk to reoffend.

Family members filed victim impact statements to be read in court. The mother's statement details her fear and nervousness around new people. She says she believes anyone can be a predator if someone so close to her could have done this.

Drake asked Provincial Court judge Stephen Harrison to impose a four- to five-month jail sentence with a two-year probation. But defence lawyer Jay Michi asked for the bare-minimum – a 90-day jail sentence to be served on weekends.

"He doesn't see himself as a predator," Michi told the court. "He likes people. He likes children."

When asked if he had anything to say before being sentenced, the accused ask Harrison to spare him a consecutive jail sentence so he could keep his job.

"If I go to jail for the full period of time, I lose my job," he said.

Harrison gave the accused an intermittent sentence, along with a two-year probation period. 

"The actions that you engaged in with your step daughter were selfish," Harrison said. "You tend to minimize your involvement in this and that is not satisfactory."

The accused will have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years and he is barred from attending any public park, swim area, daycare or community centre where it is reasonable to believe children are present.

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