A man who traded bedrooms with his roommate and had sex with the man’s former girlfriend, who was initially passed out in his bed, was spared a jail sentence Tuesday.
“This is a very difficult sentencing decision,” said Kamloops provincial court judge Chris Cleaveley.
The name of the victim is protected by court order. Due to the relationship, Kamloops This Week is not publishing the name of the accused as doing do could indirectly identify the victim.
The 24-year-old man pleaded guilty to sexual assault in connection to events of Jan. 30, 2016, that included elements of mistaken identity.
On that night, the victim was drinking with friends and went to a city nightclub, where she became seriously intoxicated.The 24-year-old man and his roommate, the victim’s former boyfriend, were also drinking at the club.
In his decision, Cleaveley said the roommate was concerned with his former girlfriend’s level of intoxication and offered to take her to his house.
The victim passed out in her former boyfriend’s bed. When his new girlfriend came home, however, an argument ensued. Eventually, the 24-year-old and the roommate agreed to exchange bedrooms for the night to solve the problem.
“[The 24-year-old man]entered . . . the [roommate’s] bedroom, stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed. At that point, [the victim] was asleep,” Cleaveley wrote in his decision.
The judge said the 24-year-old man identified himself by his first name several times, but the victim said she didn’t believe it. Eventually, the 24-year-old man got out of bed and turned on the light. The victim screamed and jumped out of the bed. The 24-year-old man, who had engaged in sexual intercourse with the woman, then touched her genitals.
The victim wrote a statement describing the impact on her.
“She has missed classes, has had difficulty concentrating during lectures and studying . . . Not surprisingly, [she] wrote about a ‘sense of worthlessness and constant sadness.’”
Cleaveley noted the 24-year-old man intended from the beginning to plead guilty, despite the potential frailty of the evidence against him. He is a university student, has no criminal record and expressed remorse.
“There can be no downplaying the seriousness of [the 24-year-old man’s] offending,” Cleaveley said. “He violated her privacy and dignity by having unwanted sexual intercourse with her and then further compounded his offending by digitally penetrating [her] when it must have been apparent she wanted nothing to do with him and only wanted to leave.”
The Crown asked for a jail sentence.
Cleaveley imposed an 18-month conditional sentence order that includes six months of house arrest and six further months of curfew.
The 24-year-old man will also be listed on the sex-offender registry for 10 years.
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