The sentence handed down to a West Vancouver man who used a hidden camera to record videos of young women in the bathroom of his home has sparked outrage, with critics particularly concerned that the judge had deemed the voyeur’s actions inappropriate for the intimacy between the couple. I’m angry that he seems to be blaming it on Sa’s fight.
The man, whose name Global News is not publishing because it is prohibited from publishing anything that could identify the victim, installed a camera on an electric toothbrush charger in 2022 and captured the 21-year-old international student. He took nude photos and videos.
He pleaded guilty in June to one count of voyeurism and was sentenced to conditional release on October 26. This means that his criminal record will be cleared once he completes his 30-month suspended sentence.
In sentencing the 43-year-old medical worker, Judge Joseph Galati told the court he was “satisfied that the charges are clear.” [the man’s] It is best to avoid the stigma of a criminal record and the impact it may have on his employment. ”
“It’s extremely disappointing and completely unacceptable in the 21st century,” Angela Marie McDougall told Global News in an interview Wednesday.
McDougall, executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services, said the ruling shows that despite the work her organization has done within the state’s judiciary, survivors continue to be marginalized. He said it shows.
“The criminal legal system takes a defendant-centered approach with no regard for victims, and the chilling effect this almost certainly has and will continue to have, and the chilling effect this particular woman has had on coming forward. “Looking at the decisions that were made,” McDougall said. “And then this horrible sentence came out.”
The judge’s decision sparked outrage online, with comments on a Reddit thread saying: seriously? Will it protect the criminal? ”
“This man is a pervert and a criminal. Our justice system is ridiculous,” another commenter wrote. “How dare a legal official put all the blame on his wife!” added a third.
The latter is a reference to the judge’s finding that the man’s behavior was erratic and that “an inadequacy in the marital relationship contributed to the offense.”
Prosecutor Arianna Ward detailed a mental health and pre-sentence report, saying the crime was a case of a period in the man’s life when he and his wife had issues with sexual intimacy and for some reason “images were not available”. “The crime occurred at a time when I felt that I was filming the scene,” he told the court. And satisfying those urges wouldn’t hurt anyone more than she knew. ”
The court heard that the couple are currently receiving ongoing marital counseling.
“I think we can only get better. What we’re working on is becoming better people,” the man’s wife told Global News on Tuesday.
The victim has returned home, but another female student is currently staying with the convicted voyeur.
If she leaves the country on January 1, 2024, the man must not allow anyone other than his relatives to live there during his probation period.
Once his probation is successfully completed, there is nothing to prevent this man from entertaining women again.
“I wonder if the judge spoke to the student,” said Gonzalo Peralta, executive director of the Canadian Language Bureau. “Do students know everything that’s going on?”
Languages Canada works with federal and provincial governments to make it easier for international students to study in our country.
Languages Canada said the case could prompt a review of its protection process, which admits 150,000 international students a year to members of the national body.
“Times have changed. Now you can hide a camera inside your toothbrush,” Peralta told Global News.
“So how do we adapt to these new circumstances? I think that’s important.”
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