Former Global BC reporter sentenced to four years in jail for sexual assault

Former Global BC reporter Ron Bencze has been sentenced to four years in a federal prison for sexually assaulting a child.

The Crown was seeking a prison sentence of two to three years for the father of three, who pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault last month.

However, the judge said that was “too lenient” and a harsher sentence was required.

Bencze did receive credit for his guilty plea, and the judge did acknowledge the loss of his career and the stress the situation created for his family.

The assaults continued for a span of around seven years, and relates to a Surrey teen.

Bencze’s defence lawyer had asked for a conditional sentence of around 18 months.