Former Penticton Vees player has domestic assault charge dropped

A former Penticton Vees hockey player jailed for having sex with an underage girl has had a domestic violence charge dropped.

Instead, Liam James Noble pleaded guilty to breaching a no-contact order when he arrived at his ex-girlfriend’s place late at night and let the air out of her tires.

“He was drinking heavily, suffering great depression. He had already been convicted on the another matter, but he had not been sentenced yet, and he was very, very, very concerned about going to jail,” defence lawyer Cory Armour told a Kelowna courtroom, May 22.

Other charges of domestic assault, theft and mischief were stayed by Crown prosecutors.

The case comes a month after Noble was jailed for two years for having sex with a 15-year-old girl, when he was 20 years old and playing hockey for the Penticton Vees. He had been caught up in the “hockey mindset” of partying and girls.

The judge found he had failed to take reasonable steps to confirm her age, and as she was a minor she was legally incapable of consenting.

The current incident happened when he was on bail last November.

He showed up at his ex-girlfriend’s place in Kelowna and let air out of her tires, but a neighbour saw him and called his ex.

“This was clearly a breach of Mr. Noble’s undertaking, which had the condition that he was not to go to any place where (his ex) lives or works,” Crown prosecutor Trevor Sicotte said.

Noble was barred from going near her following an incident two months earlier, which led to charges of assault and theft.

The Crown said the couple were breaking up and got into an argument about a cell phone.

“Mr. Noble grabbed a purse and took a phone out of it,” the Crown said. “It wasn’t (his ex’s) phone, but there was an argument about whose phone it technically was.”

There was no explanation as to why the incident would have been considered an assault.

“I should note that that file was effectively barely approved by me when the police recommended those charges,” Sicotte told the court.

The 25-year-old was later arrested at home and spent a night in jail.

“He made a stupid decision. His one night in jail seemed to have straightened him out, and we didn’t have any further problems,” his lawyer said.

In a joint submission to the court, lawyers put forward a suspended sentence of probation for 12 months.

Judge Cathie Heinrichs accepted the sentence.

“A lot of the cases that we have in this court have to do with violence between either current or past intimate partners, and it’s a significant problem in our society,” Judge Heinrichs said.

“So the sentence needs to make sure that it’s very clear to you that that kind of behaviour is not acceptable and cannot be repeated in the future… I’m hopeful that the sentence will deter you in the future.”