Crown seeks jail for piano teacher
A well-known piano teacher in Vancouver’s Asian community who was convicted of sexually assaulting five of his female students should spend 40 to 44 months in jail, a prosecutor argued Friday.
In February, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray found Yung Ping David Chen guilty of nine counts relating to the crimes that occurred in the piano studio of his Vancouver home. The offences happened over a nearly 20-year period, from 1994 to 2013.
In his sentencing submissions, Crown counsel Steven Black told the judge that Chen, 69, was in a position of authority and trust over vulnerable victims, who were young and scared of him.
“On his own evidence, he admitted that he could be harsh and verbally abusive to his students. And he used this power and the fear that he instilled in them for his own sexual gratification.”
Chen, a highly regarded teacher who often had between 30 and 40 students at a time, touched the breasts of the victims during their lessons, some of them multiple times. He also kissed two of the victims.
Black read into the record the victim impact statements of two of the victims, who cannot be identified due to a publication ban imposed by the judge.
One of the victims, who is now 36 years old, said there were no words to describe the emotional pain that she had gone through during and after the incidents.
“David Chen took advantage of the teacher-student relationship for his personal selfish gain. I had a very strong and passionate talent for piano, one that he has taken away from me.”
The (sexual) offences happened over a nearly 20-year period, from 1994 to 2013.
The victim, now a mother of two, said that every time she hears piano music, she is reminded of the crime committed by Chen.
“How can such beautiful music leave such ill feelings to any one individual? When I hear the songs I was playing during the incident, it impacts me even more.”
The other victim said in her statement that she felt “very uncomfortable and violated” every time she was touched by Chen.
“Mr. Chen has hurt me and my family through his actions, but we have been able to forgive as we have been called to do so in our faith in God.”
David Albert, a lawyer for Chen, called for a sentence of two years less a day, with most of that sentence served as a conditional sentence in the community and a small amount, three months, to be jail time.
Albert pointed out that there were far more serious cases of sexual assault in the case law, and noted that Chen is a first-time offender with no prior criminal record. He is 69 years old and suffering from depression in addition to being a low risk to re-offend.
The judge questioned whether it was possible to impose a sentence including both jail time and time served conditionally, and the two lawyers replied that it was possible to do so. She said she would hand down her sentence July 24.