kamloopsthisweek.com | kamloopsthisweek |
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2023 | Volume 36 No. 4
kamthisweek
#YKASTRONG
TRYING TO COPE AMID THE TRAUMA
Fundraiser launched for woman whose ex-husband allegedly sexually assaulted their daughter CHRISTOPHER FOULDS KTW EDITOR
editor@kamloopsthisweek.com
A woman whose ex-husband is charged with drugging and sexually assaulting the couple’s daughter as part of a child pornography video said she is trying to carry on as best she can as court proceedings continue. Neither the woman nor her ex-husband can be identified due to a court-ordered publication ban imposed to protect the identities of the woman and her daughter. “We’re getting by,” she told KTW. “It’s hard. We have a lot of resources in the community, support-wise, that we’ve been working with.” The woman and her exhusband legally separated in May 2019. Her ex-husband is awaiting his next court appearance, on Feb. 16 in Kamloops Law Courts. He is facing five charges, including possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography and administrating a stupefying or overpowering drug. He was arrested on Dec. 15 after Kamloops Mounties executed a search warrant at his home. Local police were
AN UPDATE ON THE PINEVIEW VALLEY RENOVICTION STORY Last spring, Kamloops This Week reported on a bid by the Fraserview Development Corporation to apply to the province’s Residential Tenancy Branch to evict residents of the 42 units at Pineview Heights, at 1920 Hugh Allan Dr., due to planned renovations. While legislation gives current tenants the right of first refusal (meaning they get first shot at moving back into their renovated unit), higher rents may have proved to be too expensive for them. In October, Fraserview withdrew its application to the Residential Tenancy Branch. Now, however, the company is selling the townhouse units individually, with the first few starting at $455,000. TURN TO PAGE A6 FOR THE FULL STORY.
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contacted by law enforcement in the United States and the BC Integrated Child Exploitation Unit. Kamloops RCMP Sgt. Brian Merriman of the sex crimes unit said at the time that the investigation was treated as a priority to address the allegation that a child was at immediate risk of harm. The accused was held in custody on those charges and for allegedly breaching an unrelated court conditional sentence order. That alleged breach, as reported by Castanet, stemmed from the man’s guilty pleas in November to two charges of publishing an intimate image without consent. The man had shared with other women graphic sexual videos he had filmed of himself and his ex-wife, one of which his ex-wife did not recall being made as she was incapacitated. He was sentenced to nine months of house arrest, followed by two years of probation, before being arrested on the new charges on Dec. 15. The woman said she has had to take leave from work to care for her two children, noting supports such as
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medical employment insurance have expired. Due to the hard times she and her kids are facing, a family friend has created an online fundraiser to help cover costs of food, rent and other necessities of life. It can be found online at gofundme.com by searching “Single Mother in need after trauma to her daughter.” “She is struggling financially, she is not working because she has to be with her kids — and there is trauma,” the friend said as he explained the reason for the online fundraiser. “We’re in the process of trying to figure out a longterm goal,” the woman told KTW. “I have always worked previously, but there has been a lot of trauma. We’re taking it one day at a time. I’m trying to keep as much normalcy in my kids’ lives as possible.” While the struggle has been immense, she said she has been overwhelmed by the help she has received. “I can’t fathom the amount of support we’ve had from family and friends,” she said. “One bad person doesn’t outshine all the amazing people in the world.”