Man sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually abusing his grandchildren and cruelty to dogs

WARNING: The details of this story contain strong sexual content and may be very disturbing to some readers.

FORT ST. JOHN, BC — A 79-year-old man has been sentenced to more than seven years in a federal prison for sexually abusing three of his granddaughters and zoophilia toward a dog.

The man is married and has five children – three boys and two girls. Two of the sons are deceased, one of whom is the father of the injured grandchildren.

The 79-year-old was finally found guilty on August 21, 2023, of one count of zoophilia and four counts of solicitation of sexual touching.

The trial addresses graphic indecency, including the man forcing one of the victims (who was nine at the time) to watch pornography and masturbating in front of another victim, who was four at the time.

According to court documents, the convicted grandfather also participated in several incidents of sexual touching with his granddaughters. In one case, he engaged in zoophilia with the man’s dog and one of the victims when they were in fifth grade.

The man’s identity cannot be revealed due to a court-ordered publication ban to protect the identity of the victims.

The crimes occurred between 2004 and 2013 in northern British Columbia.

In this case, the prosecution had tried to enforce a nine-year prison sentence, while the defense argued for six years.

In addition to the prison sentence, the judge ordered participation programs and services suggested by the probation officer.

“I want to say to the victims: I hope you can put this behind you. I know from your stories that it is difficult, but I hope that in due time you will be able to put this process behind you and move on with your lives,” the judge said.