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Sexual Assault
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...
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...
Sharing a cell with a dangerous offender: “A threat that goes right down into my core”
PENTICTON - Two RCMP officers recalled a 2011 assault of a young woman at a second-hand store, during the dangerous offender hearing and sentencing of David Bobbitt today in Penticton Supreme Court. Cpl. Jill Wrigglesworth was called to Dave’s Second Hand Shop on Ellis St. the night of July 31, 2011 after the car 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...
Dangerous offender hearing reconvenes this afternoon
PENTICTON - The dangerous offender hearing and sentencing of a Penticton man charged with sexual assault, aggravated assault and unlawful confinement, will reconvene in Penticton Supreme Court today after a two-month break. David Wesley Bobbitt last appeared in court the week of June 23 for the start of his dangerous offender hearing and sentencing for...
Sentencing delayed for missionary guilty of assaulting wife and kids
VERNON - The sentence hearing for a missionary found guilty of assaulting his wife and children was postponed Tuesday so he could receive a psychiatric assessment. The 42-year-old was supposed to be sentenced on charges of assault, assault with a weapon and sexual assault Tuesday afternoon in Vernon Supreme Court but a last minute order...
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...
Missionary found guilty of assaulting wife and children
VERNON - A former missionary and pastor who 'corrected' his children by beating them with a comb and who forced himself on their mother was found guilty of assault with a weapon and sexual assault in Vernon Supreme Court Monday. The North Okanagan man, aged 42, met the complainant while the two were doing missionary...
Sexual assault charges laid against Armstrong man
VERNON - Police have charged an Armstrong man with sexual assault in a two-month-old investigation. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says charges have been laid against Joseph Vance Caron, 45. “This investigation required a great deal of time to complete, and required forensic evidence to assist in the identification of their suspect,” Molendyk says. Caron is...
Bobbitt hearing to reconvene in September
PENTICTON - David Wesley Bobbitt sat in the prisoner’s box for two weeks, listening to how his violent actions affected others, how police think he’s a liar, and why he is a psychopath and sexual sadist. The dangerous offender hearing and sentencing for Bobbitt began on June 23 and will continue Sept. 2. Crown prosecutors...
Psychiatrist has ‘no reason for optimism’ Bobbitt can be rehabilitated
PENTICTON - Not only is David Bobbitt a psychopath, he's a sexual sadist and deviant, a forensic psychiatrist said today during the offender’s dangerous offender hearing and sentencing in Penticton Supreme Court. Yesterday, Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe said Bobbitt had strong psychopathic traits, based on the offender’s long history of violence, which began at the age...
Victim’s mother gives emotional testimony in dangerous offender hearing
PENTICTON - The mother of a sexual assault victim in the dangerous offender sentencing hearing for David Bobbitt recalled the summer night her daughter went missing for hours, tortured by the man who held her captive. Her daughter hadn't shown up to work or dropped off her then 22-month-old son at his grandparents’ house to...
BOBBITT HEARING: Witness told to calm down during testimony
PENTICTON - Justice Peter Rogers had to intervene between defence counsel and a witness who became increasingly defensive answering questions in a dangerous offender and sentencing hearing in Penticton Supreme Court. Earlier this week, a witness in the hearing for David Bobbitt said she is the victim of a sexual assault incident that took place...
RCMP say sex offender lied in police statement
PENTICTON — The RCMP officer who interrogated David Wesley Bobbitt after his arrest in 2007 said Bobbitt’s story was full of holes and accused him of not telling the truth in his statement. The video statement was played in Penticton Supreme Court today as part of Const. Mike Desmond’s testimony. He was the officer who...
Victim’s mother called to witness stand in dangerous offender hearing
PENTICTON - The mother of a sexual assault victim gave a brief testimony today saying her daughter would “shut down” if she was forced to testify in a room with the accused, David Wesley Bobbitt. Bobbitt’s dangerous offender hearing began this morning in Penticton Supreme Court with the offender appearing in person. Bobbitt pleaded guilty...
Ex-city councillor, sex offender sentencing delayed
PENTICTON — A sentencing date for an ex-city councillor who pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges, will be set on Monday. Gary A. Leaman, who served on Penticton City Council for three years and ran for mayor in 2008, will face sentencing for the two counts of sexual assault he plead guilty to in January....
Retirement age begins in prison for this child molester
KELOWNA – A 64-year-old man is going to jail for molesting two of his own relatives almost 30 years ago. The man, who can't be named by court order, appeared in court Monday with his current wife and pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault, gross indecency and sexual assault. He admitted to sexually abusing...