(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)
November 26, 2018 - 3:52 PM
VERNON - An Okanagan man is facing almost four years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a minor.
The accused — whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim — appeared in Vernon Provincial Court today, Nov. 26, for sentencing. He had pleaded guilty to invitation to sexual touching of a person under the age of 16. He was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
The accused, who kept his head down for the majority of the proceedings, admitted to sexually abusing a young girl over a period of seven years from mid-2009 to early-2017. The abuse occurred, on average, two or three times a month.
A Gladue report was filed on the accused, where he revealed he'd been sexually abused as a child.
Crown asked for a sentence between two and five years, while the defense asked for a term between 18 months and two years less a day. The judge settled on the three-and-a-half years.
The accused will submit his DNA for processing and he'll be on the National Sex Offender Registry for 20 years. He's prohibited from being near playgrounds, school grounds, and similar areas for seven years.
His prison sentence begins immediately.
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