South Okanagan pedophile charged for sexual assault while on bail | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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South Okanagan pedophile charged for sexual assault while on bail

Regis Palmer appears in this Facebook photo from 2015.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Regis Palmer

In the months and weeks before being sent to prison for 10 years, a South Okanagan pedophile allegedly sexually abused another victim while on bail.

Oliver actor Regis Patrick Palmer is now facing charges he sexually abused a person with a mental disability shortly before being sent to prison in July 2023.

Earlier that year, in February 2023, Palmer was found guilty of sexually abusing a friend's developmentally delayed son multiple times over a six-year period that started in 2009. The boy was 12 years old when he first met Palmer who was 53.

As is normally the case, a convicted person will wait several months before being sentenced as psychological and psychiatric assessments take place and reports are drawn up. These reports are used by judges who ultimately determine what sentence the guilty party should receive.

Palmer, who is in his late 60s, was out and about in the community on bail for five months after being found guilty, before he was ultimately sentenced to 10 years in jail.

The recent charges show that he allegedly sexually assaulted an individual, who has a mental disability, in the weeks and months after being found guilty but before being sent to prison.

It's unknown how Palmer came in contact with the victim, and court documents show that the alleged sexual assault took place in the Oliver area.

An earlier psychiatric report found Palmer at a moderate risk of reoffending.

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Palmer's original case came to light in 2016 after the victim, then aged 19, went to the police.

The victim's father had been good friends with Palmer who regularly stayed overnight at their house.

Palmer sexually assaulted the boy more times than the victim could remember.

"Mr. Palmer took advantage of the trust that (the victim's) father placed in him... over the course of years, he was given access to him, exploiting the existing trust relationship, normalizing his abusive behaviour, and manipulating (the victim)," Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said in her 2023 sentencing.

Justice Donegan said Palmer "manipulated, exploited, and preyed upon the victim for years," describing his behaviour as "depraved and deceitful."

Palmer is due in court on the recent charges at the end of November.


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