Absolute discharge for B.C. man who is also accused of assaulting sex workers

VERNON, B.C. — The Crown says a man who faces a series of charges including alleged assaults of sex workers has been given an absolute discharge in a separate allegation against him by a judge in Vernon.

The B.C. Prosecution Service says Curtis Sagmoen pleaded guilty to a single count of mischief Thursday and the court granted his application for a discharge, which means no conviction will be placed on his record.

Prosecution service spokesman Dan McLaughlin says the decision was made after consultation with the victim and the investigating agency.

Sagmoen was accused of mischief under $5,000 for wilfully placing spikes or nails on a spike belt to damage the tires of a vehicle before pleading guilty to the lesser offence.

He faces a series of other charges including assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.

Police have said the alleged victims worked as escorts in the North Okanagan and advertised their services online.

When he was first charged in October 2017, police issued a warning to the general public and sex workers to take extra precautions for their safety around Salmon River Road in a rural area north of Vernon.

It’s the same area where police uncovered the remains of missing 18-year-old Traci Genereaux while searching a 10-hectare farm in the North Okanagan that a title search shows belongs to Wayne and Evelyn Sagmoen. Police have not said if they are related to Curtis Sagmoen.

At the time, police said Genereaux’s death was suspicious but they have not released a cause of death. No charges have been laid in the Genereaux case and police have not named a suspect.

Police have not made a link between the search and the public warning issued in October 2017.

None of the charges against Sagmoen in the other cases have been tested in court.

The prosecution service says Sagmoen remains in custody and he’ll return to court Jan. 7 to fix trial dates in Vernon.