Sex Assault

Accused in 2009 sex assault case in Kamloops to face trial this summer

KAMLOOPS - The accused in a sex assault case that went cold for years will face trial in Kamloops Supreme Court this summer. Taylor James Howard Matchett, who is charged with sexual assault involving a weapon and use of an imitation firearm in the commission of an offence, will face a judge and jury this...

How a minor break-in led to arrest in six-year-old Kamloops sex assault

KAMLOOPS - A man suspected of committing a serious sex assault in Kamloops six years ago was identified as a suspect after the Alberta courts ordered him to submit a DNA sample for breaking and entering a college campus last year.   On Nov. 27, Kamloops RCMP said Taylor James Howard Matchett was arrested in...

TRU to develop policy on sex assault without statistics on campus incidents

"IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MANY ARE HAPPENING ON CAMPUS... THEN HOW CAN YOU REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW TO ATTACK THE ISSUE?" KAMLOOPS — Thompson Rivers University released an interim protocol to support and respond to students who are victims of sexual assault, but a student who was attacked twice on campus says a developing policy...

Kelowna store employee reports sexual assault

KELOWNA – A local man is being held in custody after an alleged sexual assault of a downtown employee last week. Brian Spencer, 61, is being charged with two counts of sexual assault after he entered a store and began a conversation with a female employee at around 6:15 p.m. RCMP Const. Kris Clark says...

Bobbitt’s a ‘psychopath’: Psychiatrist

PENTICTON - David Wesley Bobbitt is a clinical psychopath who showed uncommon violent behaviour even as a child, a forensic psychiatrist said today. Penticton knows Bobbitt best for his most recent, perhaps his most heinous crime when he took a young mother and her child captive for hours inside Dave's Second Hand Store on Ellis...

Victim testifies to sexual assault in dangerous offender hearing

PENTICTON — A sexual assault victim continued to give her testimony today during the dangerous offender hearing for David Bobbitt who raped her nearly eight years ago. The victim appeared in Penticton Supreme Court via closed circuit TV and gave evidence of an incident that took place in 2007. There is no relation between this...

Dangerous offender hearing postponed due to judge’s illness

PENTICTON - The dangerous offender hearing for an imprisoned Penticton man has been postponed to an unknown date. Justice Geoff Barrow fell ill unexpectedly and is unable to oversee the Supreme Court trial, said Crown Counsel. David Wesley Bobbitt is in custody at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre after pleading guilty last year to charges of...

BOBBITT: Forensic officer gives crime scene evidence

PENTICTON - Crown prosecutors called four witnesses to the stand, including a forensic identification officer, this afternoon during the dangerous offender hearing and sentencing of alleged sexual assault offender David Bobbitt. The hearing reconvened in Penticton Supreme Court Tuesday after a two month hiatus. Crown prosecutor Nashina Devji called witnesses to the stand in relation...

BOBBITT: Doctor says victim suffered life-threatening injuries

PENTICTON - The victim of an aggravated and sexual assault incident on July 31 2011 suffered life-threatening injuries, an emergency doctor said today during the dangerous offender hearing and sentencing of Penticton man, David Bobbitt. Dr. James Atkins treated the victim in the early morning of July 31, 2011, shortly after her arrival to the...

BOBBITT: Dangerous offender hearing to resume in October

PENTICTON - The dangerous offender hearing and sentencing of David Bobbitt will continue next month. Bobbitt pleaded guilty last year to seven charges, including unlawful confinement, and sexual and aggravated assault in relation to a 2011 incident when he confined a 22-year-old woman and her toddler in his second-hand store, sexually assaulted the woman and...

Psychologist: Ex-city councillor has narcissistic personality disorder

PENTICTON - Former city councillor Gary A. Leaman, who pleaded guilty of sexual assault, tested high on a court-ordered psychiatric exam for narcissistic personality disorder. Nalini Joneja, a clinical psychologist with Forensic Psychiatric Services was questioned by Crown prosecutor Catherine Crockett and defence counsel Michael Welsh on her report of the psychiatric exam done in...

Former city councillor sentenced to prison for sexual assault

PENTICTON - Former city councillor Gary A. Leaman will spend the next few years in jail—his punishment for sexually assaulting two young victims. Leaman, 59, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to a total of 21 months in provincial prison by Judge Gale Sinclair today at the Penticton Courthouse. Sinclair...

19-year-old added to sex offender registry for drunk actions

PENTICTON - A young man will serve a conditional sentence in the community after he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and unlawfully entering a home. In October 2013, a complaint was made against Justin M. Cantelon, 19, that Cantelon had entered her bedroom window over the weekend and sexually assaulted her. Cantelon had been at...

Warrant issued for arrest of alleged sex offender

PENTICTON - A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a Keremeos man who failed to attend his sentencing at the Penticton courthouse Wednesday afternoon. Roy Charles O’Donaghey faces two charges of exposing genitals to a minor, to which he previously pleaded not guilty. The charges stem from two incidents during the summer of...