WARNING: This story contains graphic details that will be disturbing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
A former Surrey, B.C., real estate agent who sexually abused a 12- and 14-year-old girl and made video recordings of his abuse of the younger victim has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison.
But after credit for time served, Paul Atanassov will spend just a little more than another year behind bars.
Atanassov, 28, was originally charged with 14 offences, including sexual assault and child luring. He ultimately pleaded guilty to sexual interference and making child pornography.
“Mr. Atanassov presents as an offender who at the time, willingly engaged in careless, high-risk, self-indulgent behaviour and who had deficiencies in his moral compass.”
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At his sentencing hearing, the court heard how Atanassov plied his victims with drugs and alcohol and repeatedly engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse with the younger of the two.
This “not only seriously violated her bodily integrity but also exposed her to additional health risks including the possibility of physical injury, pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease,” Devlin told the court.
The Crown argued that Atanassov minimized his culpability in the abuse, claiming his victims had deceived him about their ages.
The girl’s age should have been readily obvious to him, the Crown argued.
Devlin noted the victims’ young ages and the video recordings were both aggravating factors in the crime.
One of the video recordings he made of himself abusing the 12-year-old girl was later shared with another adolescent girl and subsequently circulated on social media, further victimizing the girl.
That victim recently reported being addicted to crack cocaine, Devlin noted in delivering her sentence.
“It is particularly troubling that Mr. Atanassov forwarded an illicit video to another young person …apparently in an attempt to make her jealous,” Devlin said.
Mitigating factors in the case, Devlin ruled, included Atanassov’s guilty pleas, his expression of remorse and shame and the fact that he has no prior criminal record.
The Crown had sought an eight-year sentence.
Atanassov’s defence had sought a three-year sentence followed by six months on the child pornography charge, arguing Atanassov “has paid a significant price for his behaviour” and has “lost his chosen field of employment.”
His lawyer argued Atanassov had been the subject of two acts of vigilantism, had been attacked and stabbed in jail, and that media coverage of the case had been “salacious.”
Atanassov has been in custody since November 2022, after being caught breaching his bail. He has an additional 370 days to serve in prison after credit for time served, after which he will serve two years of probation.
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