Fort St. John man convicted of multiple sexual offences against granddaughters

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A Fort St. John man was convicted of multiple sexual offences against his three young granddaughters in court on Monday.

The man, only identified as Mr. M to protect the anonymity of his granddaughters, was found guilty of four counts of invitation to sexual touching and one count of bestiality by Justice Paul Walker.

While Mr. M is now in his late 70s, his granddaughters were between the ages of four and 11 at the time of the offences from 2004 to 2013.

The judge said in 2019, one of the children sent an image of a handwritten letter to her mother reporting that her grandfather had engaged in sexually inappropriate conduct towards her.

Once the text was sent, the granddaughter ripped up the letter and said she could no longer live with what had happened.

She said she lived with repressed anger and frustration for years while suffering from depression, but seeing her grandparents at her mother’s surprise birthday party brought those feelings to the surface.

Walker said the mother discussed the situation with her other daughters and found they had also experienced inappropriate incidents with their grandfather.

The mother confronted the grandfather and told him to stay away from her family, and a police investigation ensued.

 Due to the graphic nature of the offences, Energeticccity.ca will not be providing details on the incidents that occurred between 2004 and 2013. However, the judgment is available to the public.

In cross-examination, Mr. M suggested there was collusion among his granddaughters, and the youngest only emulated what was said by her older sisters.

“The contrast between Mr. M.’s evidence-in-chief that focused on the incidents described by each complainant, and his cross-examination was striking,” wrote Walker in his judgement.

When asked about the incidents, he did not provide his own account of what had happened. He said he had no recollection but also said “anything was possible.”

“In terms of demeanour, Mr. M. was argumentative and unnecessarily confrontational when answering straightforward, non-combative questions put to him in cross-examination,” Walker wrote. 

In contrast, the judge found the evidence of each granddaughter describing the incidents involving Mr. M to be credible and reliable.

He was found guilty of the five charges and, according to the Criminal Code of Canada, could be facing between one and 14 years in prison.

Mr. M’s sentencing hearing will be on October 10th, 2023.