Victim impact statement paints a picture of teens lost to sexual assault – Vernon News

Photo: Castagnet

The sexual exploitation victim read her victim impact statement in Vernon provincial court on Tuesday.

The identity of the victim and the perpetrator cannot be revealed due to a publication ban imposed to protect the identity of the victim.

In her statement, the victim said she felt isolated from her peers and had difficulty eating and sleeping as a result of the attack.

“When I think about what it was like to be a teenager, all I can remember is the abuse,” the victim said.

The perpetrator in this case has already been found guilty of sexual exploitation because he held a position of authority and the victim was between 16 and 18 years old at the time of the crime. He was expected to be sentenced Tuesday, but time did not allow for sentencing, which will take place at a later date.

The court heard the perpetrator had sexual intercourse, oral sex and other sexual touching with the victim several times. The offenses took place over the course of approximately two months, from December 2021 to February 2022, and the relationship came to an end when the victim’s mother found out.

The victim said she thought the perpetrator’s interest in her was initially friendly and harmless.

“How could I have thought otherwise? I was 15 and he was at least 10 years older than me,” the victim said.

“But when the attack started, I felt scared, powerless, helpless and desperate to escape. I wanted so badly to pretend that my life was normal, just to be a teenager instead of someone going through such trauma.”

Crown attorney Matthew Blow is asking for a prison sentence of one to three years, in addition to probation.

Lawyer Cassandra Tam demands a suspended sentence of six to twelve months, which means that the perpetrator will be placed under house arrest.

The perpetrator will have to wait a little longer for the amount of his sentence, because the court no longer had time to pronounce a verdict on Tuesday.