Keith Chase sentenced to 23 months in jail for sexually assaulting teen girl

Photo: File photo

A Vernon businessman and former hockey coach was sentenced to 23 months in jail for sexually assaulting a teen girl almost 20 years ago.

Keith Chase was sentenced in BC Supreme Court in Vernon Friday morning.

Chase will also be placed on the national sex offender registry for the next 20 years, must also provide a DNA sample and have no contact with the complainant.

Chase was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in an incident that happened in 2004, when he was in his mid-30s.

He was found guilty in March of sexually assaulting the teen hockey player when she slept over at his home before a game.

During submissions from prosecution and defence in September, Crown counsel Miho Ogi-Harris asked Justice Gary Weatherill for a sentence of two to four years, while defence lawyer Nicholas Jacob asked for a two-year conditional sentence.

Jacob said if that was denied by Weatherill, he would seek a jail term of no more than nine months.

Ogi-Harris said the incident had a profound affect on the young woman, who used alcohol, suffered loss of self esteem and had trouble trusting men.

Other than the sexual assault, Chase has no criminal record and is known in the community for his charitable work through his business, Chasers Bottle Depot.