Probation for man who assaulted babysitter

Will also be registered as sex offender for groping 15-year-old

A 23-year-old father of two has been ordered to stay away from teenage babysitters for the next three years after he pleaded guilty to fondling a 15-year-old girl more than two years ago.

The Welland man pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines to a charge of sexual interference.

His name is not being released in order to protect the identity of the victim.

In the fall of 2015, court was told, the teenage girl began to babysit the man’s infant child. The man, and his then pregnant wife, and the victim lived in the same Welland townhouse complex.

During the time she cared for their daughter, court heard, the defendant would repeatedly touch the teenager’s breasts and buttocks.

The victim reported her experience to police a year later after watching a presentation in school on sexual assault.

Assistant Crown attorney Pat Vadacchino had asked for a 90day jail term, saying the victim was “highly traumatized by what happened.”

She added the defendant was in a position of trust at the time as he was essentially her employer.

“He took advantage of that power imbalance,” she said.

Defence lawyer Jeff Root said a probationary term was a more appropriate sentence as his client, a first-time offender, pleaded guilty to the charge and spared the victim from having to testify at trial.

“He has taken full responsibility for what he has done,” Root said.

“He’s extremely remorseful. His behaviour, he acknowledges, was inappropriate.”

Judge Peter Wilkie placed the man on probation for three years and ordered him not to have any contact with the victim. He is also banned from being in the presence of a teenage babysitter unless another adult is present.

His name will appear on the national sex offender registry for the next 10 years.