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Joel Perry after he was sentenced in March for making harassing and threatening phone calls to woman around B.C. (Global News)
Guilty plea

Man sentenced for sexual assault of senior in Qualicum Beach

Dec 22, 2019 | 12:43 PM

Warning: This story contains graphic details which may not be appropriate for all readers

NANAIMO — A man pleaded guilty and will serve the next three months in prison for a disturbing sexual assault against an 80-year-old woman in Qualicum Beach.

Joel Perry, 34, was sentenced to eight months behind bars, but benefitted from time already served following a joint submission in provincial court in Nanaimo on Friday, Dec 20.

Perry was arrested Sept. 10, 2019 and has been in custody ever since the alarming Aug. 19, 2019 incident on a wooded trail behind the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre.

Crown prosecutor Basil McCormick revealed the chilling details of the encounter. While walking with her dog, the victim noticed the offender following her at around 8:20 a.m.

McCormick said Perry faced the woman and asked her, “would you like to feel me?”

The victim reported Perry’s penis was exposed and she believed he was masturbating.

The woman refused to watch.

“I want you to look at it,” Perry responded.

“Go away, go away!,” the woman shouted.

Perry then tightly bear-hugged the victim from behind and grabbed both of her breasts.

She screamed loudly, causing Perry to let her go.

He ran towards the parking lot.

There were no witnesses.

Qualicum Beach Civic Centre surveillance footage showed the suspect’s vehicle in the parking lot during the time of the assault.

The victim identified the suspect, who was arrested several days later on Sept. 10 without incident near the Parksville Industrial Park.

McCormick said Perry didn’t admit to the attack during an interview with an officer at the Oceanside RCMP detachment. Perry did however reveal during questioning that he uses sex to show his dominance over women.

Perry was not charged for a similar incident 45-minutes after the Qualicum Beach encounter in which a man exposed himself to a woman in Parksville’s Springwood Park area.

Defence attorney Chris Churchill said Perry had a difficult first four years of his life. He said Perry was born in Costa Rica, where he was abandoned as an infant and lived in an orphanage. Perry was stabbed in the face as a young child, which blinded his right eye. Perry has a hearing impairment and delayed speech, according to Churchill.

He said Perry has lived in Canada for 29-years under the guidance of supportive parents who adopted him.

Citing a prior pre-sentence report and psychiatric assessment, Churchill said Perry has been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder, which causes difficulty experiencing relationships.

Perry has trauma related to the severe neglect he experienced as a young child, Churchill said.

Perry will serve about 2-and-a-half years on probation, which involves extra time due to a breach for attacking the Qualicum Beach senior.

Perry’s name appear on the National Sex Offender Registry for 10 years.

In March 2019, Perry was handed an 18-month non-custodial sentence after he pleaded guilty to 32 charges of making harassing and sexually explicit phone calls to women primarily in the Lower Mainland.

Perry’s criminal history began well into his adult life, which struck Judge Ronald Lamperson as odd.

“It seems somewhat unusual that as a man of 34 years you’ve gone almost your entire life without any sort of criminal convictions,” Judge Lamperson said.

Perry sat silently in the prisoner’s box throughout the half-hour hearing.

He did not address the court.

Judge Lamperson recommended Perry serve his remaining sentence at the Ford Mountain Correctional Centre in Chilliwack, a specialized facility for sex offenders.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes