A West Shore man was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for sexual offences against his granddaughter.
The 70-year-old Langford resident, who can’t be named because a publication ban, was silent as Judge David Pendleton read out the sentence convicting him of breaking Criminal Code sections 151, touching a person under the age of 16 for a sexual purpose and 152, inviting someone under the age of 16 to touch him for a sexual purpose.
The father of the victim hugged his wife, as she wiped tears away tears at the Western Communities Courthouse as the judge read the sentence against her father, for offences against her then seven-year-old daughter between Sept. 2012 to Sept. 2014.
“(The grandfather had) a devastating affect on (the victim) and her family,” the judge read. “An aggravating factor is (the grandfather’s) breach of trust (the victim’s) parents expected of him.”
The man will have to register in the sexual registry and can’t have contact with his granddaughter or his own daughter, or own a weapon for a period of time after he is released.
The man pled not guilty, and his defence team was seeking a sentence of one year.
Outside the courthouse, the victim’s father told the Gazette that the family was ready to "move on and heal" from the ordeal.
alim@goldstreamgazette.com