Sexual exploitation of a young person, Sexual assault
R. v. P.J.H.
A publication ban applies. The offender is not named.
- Below the Crown's ask
Sentence and the Crown's position
What the law allows
The offender was convicted after trial of sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old and sexual assault of a 17-year-old in 2018, both vulnerable youths to whom he supplied drugs, and was already serving five years for sexual offences against another child. The Crown sought 12 to 14 years; the defence sought a further two and a half to three years, for a total of seven and a half to eight years. Justice A. Saunders imposed eight years and nine months concurrent with the existing sentence, for a total of nine years of incarceration, citing the offender's pattern of targeting vulnerable girls, lack of remorse and risk of reoffending.
In the judge's words
1His pattern of befriending vulnerable girls, engaging in illicit drug use with them, and then sexually abusing them, and his utter lack of remorse, in my view, speak to a considerable risk of reoffending and point to the need for a lengthy prison sentence for the protection of the public.
The record
- Convicted of
- Sexual exploitation of a young person (CC 153)
- Sexual assault (CC 271)
- Prior convictions
- Not recorded
- At the time of the offence
- Not stated1
- Defence asked for
- 7 years and 6 months in custody1
- Appeal
- Not yet checked
- Counsel
- Crown: S. Green
Defence: C.L. Sutton, N. Acker
Sources
- R. v. P.J.H., 2025 BCSC 405 Court decision, CanLII, February 18, 2025
The Crown submitted that fit sentences would be in the range of seven to eight years in the case of S., followed by a consecutive sentence of five to six years for the sexual assault of F., for a total global sentence of 12 to 14 years.
Instead, … asked for the imposition of only a further two and a half to three years globally, in addition to the five years already imposed, to give a total period of incarceration of seven and a half to eight years.
[39] … His pattern of befriending vulnerable girls, engaging in illicit drug use with them, and then sexually abusing them, and his utter lack of remorse, in my view, speak to a considerable risk of reoffending and point to the need for a lengthy prison sentence for the protection of the public.
[52] I am therefore pronouncing a sentence which will take effect immediately and will be served concurrent with the sentence now being served. Specifically, … will be sentenced to eight years, nine months. As he has already served three months of his current five‑year sentence, the total length of … incarceration on all offences will be nine years.
- R. v. P.J.H., 2025 BCSC 405 Court decision, Courts of British Columbia