A man convicted of sexually abusing his young niece is going to jail rather than staying under house arrest, B.C.’s Court of Appeal ruled Jan. 9.
After a provincial court trial, J.F.D.V., now 47, was convicted of sexual interference and sexual assault against his 12-year-old niece, an Indigenous girl living with her grandmother, Justice Janet Winteringham said in the unanimous decision of three judges.
“In this case, there were four sexual acts committed over a period of some months by a father figure,” Winteringham said.
Glacier Media has opted not to publish details of the abuse, of which there were multiple instances.
On May 23, 2024, the provincial court judge imposed a sentence of two years less a day, to be served as a conditional sentence order with house arrest, followed by three years of probation.
The Crown appealed the sentence.
In agreeing with the Crown, the court left the length of the sentence the same but changed it to a custodial one.
“The judge committed errors in principle that impacted the sentence. She also imposed a sentence that was demonstrably unfit,” Winteringham said.
The sentencing judge had found J.F.D.V. was in a position of trust and that the child was vulnerable due to a disability.
“(J.F.D.V.'s) conduct was inherently wrongful. He abused his position of trust as a father figure by sexually interfering with his 12-year-old niece, four separate times over several months in their shared family home,” Winteringham wrote.
