A Red Deer man who had sex with an underage girl a number of times over nine months was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday.
Brandon Touchette, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault in Red Deer provincial court for incidents that occurred between November 2008 and September 2009.
Five counts of sexual assault and six counts of sexual interference were withdrawn.
Crown prosecutor Robin Fiander said the victim went to police on Sept. 19, 2009, after her father caught Touchette pushing her up against the side of the family home.
The girl told police she had been having sex with the man, beginning when she was 14 and he was 20.
The incidents, which the victim mostly considered consensual, happened at Touchette’s place and on several occasions in alleys.
The victim’s name is protected by a publication ban.
Defence lawyer Lorne Goddard and the Crown asked for the two-year sentence as part of a joint submission.
Goddard said his client has accepted full responsibility for his actions and believed the girl had agreed to the sex, although he realizes the girl was too young to provide consent.
“He realizes what he did was wrong.”
Provincial court Judge John Holmes said the charge that Touchette pleaded guilty to amounts to a crime against a child.
Children under 16 are not considered to have the maturity to consent to sexual relations and can be exploited by adults.
A victim impact statement provided for the judge shows that it is not unusual for victims to have ongoing problems from these types of crimes when victims become more fully aware of what happened to them.
In Touchette’s favour was his lack of a criminal record and his early guilty plea, which meant the victim did not have to testify.
Touchette must provide a DNA sample to a national database and received a 10-year firearms prohibition.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com