An Okanagan Falls man described by Crown counsel as an extremely violent sexual predator with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to spend 133 days behind bars.
Ronald Arthur Teneycke, 51, plead guilty to charges of breach of conditions and possession of methamphetamine and was sentenced in Penticton provincial court on Monday.
"Numerous psychological profiles have been prepared on his behaviour and virtually all found he is a moderate to high-risk to re-offend violently or sexually," said Crown council John Swanson.
According to parole documents Teneycke was released in 2007 after spending 12 years behind bars, eight of them for sexual assault with a weapon, forcible confinement and uttering threats against a 17-year-old Okanagan Falls girl in 1993. Since then, Teneycke has found himself back behind bars for breaches and a 2010 conviction that resulted in a 14 month jail term and the maximum probation of three years.
On July 31, as Teneycke's 2010 probation was coming to a close, he was put on bail conditions by Judge Gale Sinclair while Crown sought an application called an 810.2. This is not a criminal charge but a way to have restrictions and controls put on a person they fear will commit a serious offence. Just weeks later on Aug. 14 Teneycke was arrested by Penticton RCMP after security at the Penticton Lakeside Casino caught what they believed to be suspicious activity on their video surveillance cameras.
Crown counsel John Swanson said security from the casino contacted RCMP after they believed they saw two people in a truck in the parkade of the casino snorting something inside the truck they were sitting in. RCMP viewed the video and later pulled over the truck in downtown Penticton. They found Teneycke with a 17-year-old female. Inside Teneycke's fanny pack Mounties discovered 0.4 grams of methamphetamine and three Tylenol 3 pills. Officers then asked Teneycke to provide a urine sample to be tested but he refused. Over the course of the investigation RCMP found Teneycke and the 17 year old were snorting water to flush out their nasal passages after consuming methamphetamine.
Swanson asked for a six month jail sentence for Teneycke with a three-year probation order because of his previous criminal history, the activity he was engaged in at the time he was arrested and the fact he was with a 17-year-old female.
Defence council, James Pennington, argued it was Teneycke's first drug offence charge and the typical sentence would be dealt with by way of a fine. Pennington said Teneycke has been in jail since he was arrested and entered a guilty plea, removing the necessity of a trial. Defence asked the judge to consider a shorter sentence that would allow Teneycke to serve intermittently on the weekends at either the Penticton or Oliver jail. This, said Pennington, would allow Teneycke the ability to be with his mother in Okanagan Falls who is terminally ill and has already lived past the six weeks to three month time frame she was given.
Appearing by video from the Kamloops Correctional Institute, Teneycke issued an apology to Judge Gale Sinclair, who set out the conditions he was supposed to abide by. Teneycke said he was dealing with stress at the time and relapsed and has since found "more appropriate" ways of dealing with that through mental health practitioners and Pathways, the addiction resource centre in Penticton.
Judge Gregory Koturbash said despite Teneycke's ailing mother, he could not give the intermittent sentence he has asked for.
"The mitigating factor that you entered a guilty plea has to be measured against the strong and compelling case Crown has. He was on bail on a very serious recognizance and I have to take into account the age of the person he was doing meth with. This type of drug is a highly addictive drug and best can be described as insidious," said Koturbash.
Teneycke will have a three-year probation when he is released with conditions including a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and cannot have contact with females under 18 unless accompanied with an adult aware of the order and approved by his probation officer. A stay of proceedings was given to the 810.2 application.