This Nanaimo man, who can't be legally identified to protect the identity of his victim, will soon learn how long he'll spend in jail after being sentenced for a number of sex crimes against his own daughter, following a sentencing hearing in a BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo on Friday, March 14. (file photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

disturbing incident

‘Shattered into a million pieces:’ Nanaimo man awaits punishment for sexually abusing infant daughter

Mar 14, 2025 | 4:58 PM

Editor’s note: This story contains extremely disturbing details regarding child sexual abuse and may not be suitable for all readers. Discretion is strongly advised.

NANAIMO — A man will have to wait to find out how long he’ll spend behind bars after being convicted of disturbing sex crimes against his own infant daughter.

The Nanaimo father, who can’t legally be named to protect the identity of his victim, was deemed mentally fit to be sentenced in October, after being found guilty of three sex crimes, including offences against his then 19-month-old daughter in their Nanaimo home in Sept 2020.

Court heard during the trial how the man’s spouse found a video on the offender’s phone of him masturbating and rubbing his penis against their daughter’s vagina in their living room.

Justice Joel Groves heard sentencing arguments in a B.C. Supreme Court in Nanaimo on Friday, March 14, and will provide his decision later this year.

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Crown and Defence
Crown prosecutor Joanna Simpson asked for a prison sentence of six to nine years in a federal penitentiary followed by a lengthy probation period, while the defence asked for two year provincial jail sentence and any probation terms deemed necessary by the court.

During sentencing proceedings, Simpson spoke about how the man’s action shattered the life of his young family and former partner, who is now looking after their children on her own.

Their other children still have limited contact with the offender, while the child who is the victim in this case no longer has contact, causing confusion amongst the young family.

Simpson describes the “deep and lasting harm” caused by the father’s actions.

“This kind of offence has a deep and lasting harm to both the particular victim involved, and society on a whole. There is no more vulnerable victim than a child in their own with their own family. There is absolutely no defence available to a child who is at home, asleep with their own family members.”

The ex wife discovered a video of the abuse on his phone on the night in question and immediately took her daughter to the hospital, hiding the phone prior to leaving.

However, once she returned home the video was gone from his phone, with police only able to recover a thumbnail image from the video.

A total of 19 images were found on the man’s phone depicting children, with 16 of them anime, depicting graphic sexual situations involving what appears to be prepubescent kids engaging in sex acts with adults as well as animals.

Two of the remaining photos were of actual children posing in various positions while clothed, but did not meet the threshold to child sexual exploitation.

Defence attorney Tim Russell said having his client serve time in a provincial institution would provide him access to better sexual offender programing and allow him to return to Nanaimo sooner to serve his probation period to be near his family.

Russell said the offender self-reported to a Nanaimo clinic for depression shortly after the incident and said he showed “profound, significant, depression, shame, remorse” for his actions.

“He said things like he’s ruined the lives of his family. He is full of remorse, hopelessness, and self-disgust….he’s suffering a lot of stress and anxiety…that’s something that has plagued him his whole life.”

Victim Impact Statement
A victim impact statement from the offender’s ex wife was read aloud in court, written a few weeks after the incident.

In the statement, she wrote how it has impacted their family in an immensely negative way.

“We can no longer function as a ‘normal family unit.’ Our children will no longer be able to have both of their parents present at some of the most important moments of their lives. Any relationship we had with friends is gone and replaced with judgment and fear. Our family has been shattered into a million pieces and left for me to pick up on my own. My trust has been completely broken, as well as my heart. But most of all, I’m saddened for our children. They’re hurt, sad, mad, and confused.”

During a pre-sentencing psychological evaluation, the court heard that while the offender expressed deep remorse for his actions, acknowledging the harm he caused to his family, he still claimed he didn’t recall the incident, citing a sleeping disorder which caused him to sleepwalk and do things he had no memory of.

The evaluation concluded he was at a low risk to reoffend in a similar way, and he was not diagnosed with any pedophilic disorder.

The offender served 176 actual days in custody last year.

He’s also facing additional conditions once released specifically tailored to sex offenders, including a 10-year ban of being in public places where anybody under the age of 16 may be present.

The unidentified man remained motionless in the prisoner’s box during the proceedings, with his head bowed low and face buried in his hands.

When asked by justice Groves if he wanted to address the court, he was told the offender would be unable to speak without becoming overwhelmed with emotion.

He simply lifted his head from his hands momentarily and said quietly, “I can’t think of anything.”

NanaimoNewsNOW omitted several peripheral details entered into the court record in order to protect the victim’s identity.

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