Oliver man guilty of sexual assault

An Oliver man was found guilty of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter in a Penticton court room on Thursday.

Judge Meg Shaw handed down the decision at the end of a lengthy court case that began after the man was arrested in December of 2009.

The man was found guilty of sexual assault, sexual interference of a young person under  16 and touching a young person for a sexual purpose.

The man’s name is not being given to protect the identity of the girl who was 11 at the time of the assaults.

The situation started with the man calling the girl sexy and gorgeous, and soon escalated to a bedtime visit where he put his hand down the girl’s underpants.

The visits grew to two or three times a week. On one occasion he attempted to have sexual intercourse with the girl.

The girl said during the trial that she did not do anything because her stepfather threatened to hurt her mother and brothers.

The accused denied touching the girl inappropriately in a police statement. He said she gave him hugs and kisses and was jealous of her mother.  She had also seen him coming out of the shower and pornography found on a computer in the home  belonged to the child.

But Shaw said she found what he told the police officer to be frequently confusing and that she did not believe he did not touch the girl in a sexual fashion.

The girl, however, was not shaken in her description of the events.

Although she admitted she did not like her stepfather, she had no motive to fabricate evidence.

The judge further denied the stepfather’s application that his rights to a speedy trial had been violated.

She admitted there may have been some emotional prejudice, but there is nothing in materials that he requested a variation for employment purposes.

A pre-sentence report now needs to be completed. The man is next expected to be in court on March 20 to fix a date for sentencing.