Photo: Contributed

UPDATE 3:30 p.m.

A Vernon man who pleaded to sexually assaulting his two young stepdaughters and possessing hundreds of images of child pornography was sentenced to six and a half years in jail, Tuesday.

Justice Mark Takahashi took time served into consideration and the man – who cannot be identified because of a publication ban – was give 12 months credit, meaning the sentence was reduced to five and a half years.

However, with time off for good behaviour, the accused could be out of jail in less than two years.

The man must also provide a DNA sample and have no contact with the girls or their mother.

Calling the man's actions “degenerate and depraved acts,” Takahashi noted the man was in a position of trust and authority over the girls, who had no way of stopping assaults that included intercourse.

Reading a victim impact statement, Takahashi quoted one of the girls as saying “I went through things no little kid should ever have to go through.”

However, because he pleaded guilty, the children were spared having to go through a trial and relive their ordeal, something Takahashi took into consideration.

The accused also has the name of one of the victims tattooed on his arm, and while Takahashi said he did not have the authority to order it removed, defence counsel Juan O'Quinn said the accused was going to have the tattoo removed on his own.

ORIGINAL

The fate of a man who sexually assaulted his two stepdaughters and was found in possession of hundreds of child-porn images is in the hands of a provincial court judge.

The man, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, pleaded guilty to the charges and has been in jail since January 2014.

Heavy set with short hair, he rarely looked up from the prisoner's box as Crown counsel Shirley Meldrum outlined to Justice Mark Takahashi why the accused should be sentenced to six and half years for the assaults and another 18 months for the pornography, for a total of eight years in prison.

Meldrum said both the stepdaughters, now in their teens, were sexually assaulted over a number of years and that police found some 1,800 images and videos of child pornography, including one in which a young girl was gagged and tied to a bed. Several of the images and videos showed men having sex with young girls.

The accused first assaulted one of his stepdaughters when she was just six years old.

“The accused was in a position of trust for both of these girls,” Meldrum said, adding the assaults took place when the girl's mother wasn't home.

Meldrum told the court a psychiatric assessment painted the accused as a pedophile with medium risk to re-offend.

Crown noted the accused pleaded guilty to the sexual assault charges, sparing the girls from having to testify in court.

“That carries a lot of weight,” said Meldrum.

The man has also taken part in several courses while incarcerated and has expressed remorse for his actions and a desire to continue with counselling programs.

Some of the child-porn images included girls as young as four or five years old.

During the proceedings Tuesday morning, four sheriffs deputies were in the courtroom, as were several members of the girl's family.

Takahashi will hand down his sentence this afternoon.