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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014
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Appealing horrific sex crimes sentence
NO PLACE IS
HOME
BY PAUL J. HENDERSON phenderson@chilliwacktimes.com
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when her car was vandalized late one night in her driveway near the bridge. It prompted the local resident to write a letter to Mayor Sharon Gaetz. But a group of homeless people who were under the overpass Saturday say they aren’t engaged in criminal activity. “We don’t break into or vandalize cars,” says Roy, who wishes to go by his first name only. “We’re against that. We try to stay to ourselves and
awyers were scheduled to be in court in Vancouver Wednesday for an appeal of a Chilliwack man’s 2013 sentence on child sex charges. Judge Roger Cutler handed down a 12-year sentence on July 11, 2013 to the man—who cannot be named because of a publication ban—for an ongoing, violent sexual assault of his toddler stepdaughter. The defendant also took videos of the abuse. He pleaded guilty and was convicted of sexual assault causing bodily harm and possession of child pornography. During sentencing submissions in June of 2013, the court heard that the man raped the girl daily from when she was two years old. When he was arrested on Oct. 4, 2012, the victim’s mother called 9-1-1 and said she believed her three-yearold was being sexually assaulted by her boyfriend. He was caught in the act by Mounties at the couple’s downtown home. The man’s cellphone was seized and, along with another cellphone and a computer, he was found to be in possession of 777 images and 72 videos that meet the legal definition of child pornography. He admitted to having more than 10,000 images on his computer but, due to technical problems, they were not all retrievable by the RCMP.
{ See HOMELESS, page A29
{ See APPEAL, page A6
Greg Laychak/TIMES
Homeless people under the Yale Road overpass beside McDonald’s. Recent activity in the area has caused concern for nearby residents and businesses. GREG LAYCHAK glaychak@chilliwacktimes.com BY
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public and threaten residents in the area. On one week in early September the presence of bylaw officers and RCMP was noticeably lacking in the area, according to Richard. It was during that period she noticed the population of homeless people increase dramatically under the overpass.
“They had this huge cardboard tent city all the way around there,” says Richard. “And they were working on bikes.” Richard and her husband speculate that the group was switching stolen bike parts in order to sell the finished products later. The final straw for Richard was 6621141
ecent activity under the Yale Road overpass on Railway Avenue triggered one angry community member to speak out last week. Area resident Linda Richard says there is an “invasion of homeless people” in the area beside the McDonald’s fast food restaurant. She’s concerned because she says the occupants leave a mess, urinate in
Cardboard tent city and its motley crew not wanted by neighbourhood
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