Sentencing will be held late in January for a man who has admitted to repeated incidents of fondling and viewing pornography with small children.
The victims were his stepson’s son and daughter, as well as one of the boy’s friends.
The 49-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the children’s identities, was charged on Oct. 19, 2011, with 13 offences, including six counts of sexual assault, one count of inviting sexual touching and six counts of inviting sexual interference with children under 14.
Represented by Red Deer lawyer Walter Kubanek, the man pleaded guilty in Red Deer provincial court on Monday morning to the sexual touching and sexual interference charges.
Crown prosecutor Jason Snider subsequently withdrew the sexual assault charges.
In reading the statement of facts, Snider described incidents that occurred between March 2006 and September 2011 and in a variety of locations, including the family room at the Collicutt Centre in Red Deer as well as at one home in the city and another home in another Alberta city.
Red Deer RCMP investigated reports in 2010 of the man molesting one of the boys, but had not been able to find enough evidence at the time to collaborate the complaint, said Snider.
Police became involved again while investigating additional complaints that arose after the father learned that his daughter had been watching pornography.
Police interviewed the girl during the previous investigation, but she did not tell them what had happened to her “because she didn’t want to split up the family,” said Snider.
Seated beside his lawyer, the accused trembled visibly as the charges were read while members of his family watched from the back rows of the courtroom.
Sentencing has been adjourned to Jan. 29 to give time for a psychiatric assessment to determine his mental state at the time of the incidents.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com