Creeps girls while on bail

A woman says she felt harassed and uncomfortable after going on a date with a Peachland man who is now facing charges of sexually assaulting two women in their sleep.

Three women contacted Castanet after recognizing Shea Gardecki in a recent Castanet article.

He was released from custody on bail in August 2016.

The sexual assault trial for the 40-year-old Gardecki, who is known as 'Shay' on the dating site Plenty of Fish, began last Wednesday.

Gardecki was active on his POF profile on the very morning of his trial and responded to messages at 3:04 a.m.

One woman, who asked not to be named, deleted her POF account after a date with Gardecki because she said she was "too scared.”

She recalls Gardecki picking her up and going to a bar in downtown Kelowna in June 2017.

“He kept buying me drinks, we were there for about 15 minutes,” she said.

The two then walked to Rose’s Waterfront Pub. 

“(He was) trying to hold my hand, I wouldn’t let him," she said. "He put his arm around me, grabbed my butt a few times.

“I felt very uncomfortable so when we got to Rose's, he went to the bathroom, so I texted my girlfriend and said ‘please come get me.'"

As the woman was waiting for her friend, she says Gardecki was “touching her” and “hitting on her.”

She thanked him for the drinks, and told him she had to go.

“He got pissed off, then took off because I wasn't going to go with him to his truck,” she said.

All three women who reached out to Castanet talked with 'Blondeguy39' of West Kelowna on Plenty of Fish. His profile reads: “I am a fun guy to be around. Looking for a girl with simular nterest.and that enjoys what life has to offer.”

He describes himself as five-foot-five and "wants to date but nothing serious."

In June 2017 a woman agreed to meet ‘Shay’ for a coffee at McDonald's and described him as being “pretty obsessed” with her.

“He gave me a creepy feeling,” she said. “It was his eyes.”

The woman said he continued to message and send her selfies for two months even though she told him he wasn’t her type. 

Another woman noticed 'Shay' on POF within the last month and said “he kept making new profiles… creepy.”

"Really hope no one meets up with him," she said.

None of these accusations have been proven in court.

Gardecki was arrested on Aug. 23, 2016 and faces two counts of sexual assault and one count of breaking and entering.

Two women woke to find a man assaulting them in their bed at their residence on Highland Road North. Gardecki was arrested that night and released from custody on bail a few days later. 

Closing arguments were heard on Wednesday and the Jury began their deliberations Thursday.