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A 74-year-old Shuswap pastor who sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl he had befriended through the church has been handed a sentence far below what the Crown sought.

Yesterday, May 5, at the Salmon Arm courthouse, Pastor William Paul Paquette, who goes by the name Paul, avoided a jail cell after court heard how his actions had a devastating effect on the young woman's life.

The court heard how the victim – whose name is covered under a court-ordered publication ban – was rejected and alienated by the church when she reported the sexual assault.

The name of the church is also covered under the publication ban and iNFOnews.ca has been purposely vague about some of the details to protect the victim's identity.

The court heard that the pastor, who was 69 years old at the time, had known the teen and her family through the rural Shuswap church several years ago.

They had all become closer following an overseas missionary trip and one spring the then 16-year-old girl had begun spending a lot of time with the pastor.

She saw him as a surrogate grandfather and the pair went on numerous hikes and were frequently alone together. She looked to him for spiritual guidance and he played the role of a mentor.

However, there were warning signs.

"Their times together were marked with frequent hugs including something of a ritual or a game where Mr. Paquette would offer her a candy in exchange for a hug," BC Supreme Court Justice Anthony Saunders said. "He flattered her with comments... about how attractive she would be to boys her age."

On the day of the sexual assault, they'd gone kayaking on Shuswap Lake.

On a deserted beach, the then-69-year-old hugged the 16-year-old teen and began massaging the small of her back.

He then put his hand under her top and touched her breasts over her bra.

"I wish I could give you the biggest kiss right now," he said and kissed her on the forehead.

She froze and he removed his arms and said they needed to head back.

READ MORE: Salmon Arm man gets two years jail for raping girlfriend twice

The teen reported the sexual assault to the church and the pastor resigned.

However, the teen and her family were rejected by the church.

In a victim impact statement to the court, the teen said her integrity was questioned, "again and again and again."

"I am alienated from my former church community and am no longer welcome at the bible camp that I grew up going to and volunteered at," the teen said through her victim impact statement. "I was rejected from my bible school of choice because it is located at the camp... Paul frequently visits."

The family of the teen also submitted a victim impact statement.

"Our family was shunned in our faith community, accused of slander, betrayed by someone that we loved and trusted," the statement read. "(Our daughter) felt defiled by someone she trusted, abandoned by a church community that she needed support from at a time... of crisis. (She was) rejected by a bible school that refused her enrolment and considered her a distraction, ignored by a bible camp that wouldn't acknowledge her pain and had her innocent taken from her."

The teen later left the Shuswap, unable to keep living there. She developed suicidal thoughts, couldn't sleep and became depressed, she said.

She submitted psalms she had written herself in order to heal as part of her statement.

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It's unclear when the teen went to police but in December 2022 Pastor Paquette was found guilty after a trial of sexual assault.

Justice Anthony Saunders said throughout the trial, the pastor denied that the incident occurred.

If he does feel remorse now, he did not show it when asked if he wanted to speak before being sentenced.

Pastor Paquette said "foremost" he apologized to his family for what he had put them through and then apologized to the victim's family.

"I regret that it's been a difficult time... these should have been better years," was all he said to the victim.

Little was said about Paquette's life, apart from that he was married and had three adult children and many grandchildren. His family has stood by him.

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While his crime of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl is abhorrent, defence lawyer Glenn Verdurmen asked for a sentence of house arrest.

Crown prosecutor Danika Heighes sought 12 to 18 months behind bars.

However, Verdurmen pointed to other cases where men were given house arrest for sexual assault — all of them white professionals.

The defence lawyer quoted a recent case from Vancouver Island where Jason Zerbin – who was also a pastor who befriended a teen – received three months of house arrest for putting his hands down the pants of an 18-year-old woman and rubbing her vagina through her underwear.

The case of Vernon physiotherapist Stephen Witvoet was also referred to. Witvoet was charged with sexually assaulting 16 female victims during treatment but was later sentenced to house arrest after pleading guilty to nine charges.

In deliberating a fit sentence for Paquette, Justice Saunders pointed to the principle of parity, whereby a sentence imposed should be similar to sentences given for similar crimes.

The Justice noted that it was the pastor's position in society that had given him access to the teen in the first place and that he'd abused his position of trust.

Justice Saunders went on to say that the sexual assault had a devastating impact on the teen's life and it took courage to come forward.

However, he said it would be "grossly disproportionate" to send the now 74-year-old to jail.

Justice Saunders said he was not a risk to re-offend.

Ultimately, he sentenced him to 24 hours a day of house arrest for six months. He'll also be on the sex offender registry for 20 years and has to do 200 hours of community service.

READ MORE: Kamloops RCMP asked public to lookout for wanted sex offender who was behind bars

Justice Saunders also noted he hoped the church could accept what the pastor did.

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