Sentencing date set for man convicted in historical sexual assaults

A southern Alberta man convicted of historical sexual assaults dating back decades will soon learn whether he will serve time behind bars.

On Wednesday. a sentencing date was set in a Lethbridge courtroom.

The man convicted can’t be identified as he was underage at the time and so were his victims, who were all known to him.

The Raymond, Alta. man was found guilty of one count of indecent assault and three counts of sexual assault dating back to the 1980s.

RCMP laid charges after a woman came forward in 2016 and said she was sexually abused as a child. Additional victims were identified through the investigation, which led to additional charges.

During the trial, the man, now 50 years old, admitted to touching two of the victims on multiple occasions. The accused told court that when the victims eventually told him they didn’t want to be touched, he stopped.

Two of the counts fall under the previous Juvenile Delinquent Act, which means jail time is not an option for sentencing. However, the judge used the current Youth Criminal Justice Act in convicting the man on two of the sexual assault charges, meaning jail time is a possibility on those counts.

The Crown is asking for a combined sentence of 12 months behind bars for all of the convictions. The defence is seeking a suspended sentence, which means no jail time.

The man will be sentenced on June 5.