The Penticton man who was found guilty of pimping out his teenage stepdaughter and sexual abusing her will be in the National Sex Offender Registry for life.
The man, who cannot be named due to a court publication ban in order to protect his stepdaughter, appeared at the Penticton courthouse via video on Monday for the application hearing. He agreed to have his name in the registry for life.
In April, the stepfather was found guilty of 10 charges that took place over a span of about six years where he sexually abused his daughter and allowed others to abuse her to feed his own drug habit and sexual urges. The stepdaughter testified the abuse started when she was just 12 while she lived with her stepfather and biological mother in Osoyoos and continued when they moved to Okanagan Falls and later Penticton. While living in Surrey over a period of six months in 2011, she was forced into prostitution by her stepfather. When they moved back to Penticton he continued to force her to work in the sex trade, working from the bus stop at the Soupateria. The stepfather was given credit for the time he had served since he was arrested during an undercover RCMP operation in July 2011, leaving with him seven and half years to serve behind bars.
The Sex Offender Information Registration Act was proclaimed as law in 2004 and is a national registration system for sex offenders who have been convicted of designated sex offences and ordered by the courts to report annually to police. During the registration process, police enter information on these individuals into a database that is accessible by all accredited Canadian police agencies. The registry contains information such as name, current address, current photograph, identifying marks such as tattoos and scars, vehicle information, sex offences for which the offender has been convicted, and other information. The public does not have access to the information and the registry does not require community notification.
Under the registry the sex offender must report within seven days after released from custody to police in the jurisdiction in which they reside, and annually thereafter.
The registry must also be notified if the offender changes address or their name. If they do not comply they can face fines of not more than $10,000 and imprisonment for up to two years.