BC

VICTORIA - A provincial court judge has found a Nanaimo, B.C., father guilty of sexual assault and touching for a sexual purpose in two incidents involving his disabled daughter.

A trial was held in late November after a school counsellor called the Ministry of Children and Family Development following allegations by the teenager, who said the incidents occurred after her 12th birthday.

During the trial, the father admitted to being an alcoholic but flatly denied the sex abuse allegations made by the girl who was born with fetal alcohol syndrome.

The defence called the man, and the girl's mother, grandmother and aunt to testify, arguing the girl may have made stories up because she was angry she was not able to attend a ceremonial potlatch in Gold River, B.C.

But Judge Evan Blake said in a written ruling that while there were some difficulties with the girl's evidence — likely because her mental capacity is compromised — that did not seriously affect the teen's credibility.

He noted the Crown presented a strong case, and while he couldn't determine for sure how many times the father engaged in sexually inappropriate behaviour, he was satisfied the incidents she described occurred essentially as she described them.