Sentencing for man guilty of sexual interferece scheduled for fall

By Delon Shurtz on August 17, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge judge is scheduled later this fall to sentence an African refugee who sexually assaulted an underage girl in 2019.
The 26-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the 13-year-old girl, is set to be sentenced Oct. 12, when the judge will rule on a contested jail sentence recommended by the Crown and defence. Calgary lawyer Shelley Moore is seeking a jail sentence of 90 days to be served on weekends, while the Crown wants a straight sentence of six to nine months. The Crown also wants the man to be placed on probation for two years after he is released from custody.
The offender pleaded guilty in March to a single count of sexual interference, and last Monday the Crown and defence presented Judge Sylvia Oishi with their sentencing recommendations. The matter was adjourned to Friday, however, to schedule the sentencing date.
The man was sponsored by a southern Alberta family in 2019, and during the last week of November he was sitting on the couch with the girl, who was 12 years old at the time, and began touching her shoulders and kissing her cheeks and lips. She told him to stop, then ran to her room and locked the door.
A week later the man tried two more times to kiss her, and she told a family friend, who met with the offender and explained his conduct was inappropriate. The man apologized, but a week later he approached the girl while she was in the living room and placed his hands under her shirt. He also bit her lower lip and grabbed her neck.
In January of 2020 the girl told her parents about the assaults, and they contacted the police.

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