Voyeur stepfather sentenced to three and a half years in prison

A man who secretly set up his phone in his family’s bathroom in an attempt to film a fourth nude video of his 16-year-old stepdaughter has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

The 36-year-old offender previously pleaded guilty to single counts of making child pornography and voyeurism. A publication ban on information that could identify the victim prevents the Sun from naming the accused.

While reading out her sentencing decision in Brandon’s Court of King’s Bench on Friday, Justice Sandra Zinchuk said it was clear the man’s offending had a significant impact on the entire family, referring to the victim and several other family members’ victim impact statements.

“(The victim) lost herself in depression and described watching her family fall apart, destroying her completely,” Zinchuk said. “(The victim’s) mother also spoke about the family being torn apart … She described the hurt and betrayal as well as the lost sense of safety and trust.”

The victim’s mother had been in a relationship with the offender for 13 to 14 years and shares two children with him, court heard. She also has two daughters from a previous relationship — one being the victim.

On March 7, 2022, the victim was preparing to take a shower when she noticed a hidden cellphone inside a laundry basket in the family’s bathroom, Zinchuk said.

While the girl had not yet taken her clothes off, when she looked through the videos on the phone, she saw her stepfather setting up the phone and three previous recordings of her using the bathroom, court heard.

“In those recordings, she was completely nude, and her breasts and genitals were fully exposed,” Zinchuk said.

Zinchuk reserved her sentencing decision after the lawyers made their submissions in September.

Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup asked the court to impose 30 months for the voyeurism charge and 12 to 18 months for making child pornography, while defence lawyer Jonathan Richert asked for six months and 12 to 18 months, respectively.

Richert asked that if the total sentence was less than two years, the man serve his time as a conditional sentence — house arrest.

Zinchuk said it’s mitigating that the man has no prior criminal record and entered guilty pleas, even though they were entered on the first day of trial.

Aggravating factors included that he abused a position of trust, abused someone under the age of 18 and that the offending was “planned and premeditated, as the phone had to be set up to record.”

She said it’s aggravating that “the recording took place in the bathroom, where (the victim) was expected to enjoy a high degree of privacy.”

“At the heart of this case is the exploitation of a child. (The offender) took premeditated, calculated steps to exploit a child who lived under his roof, a child to whom he was a father figure for the majority of her young life,” Zinchuk said. “The result has been devastating.”

Zinchuk sentenced the man to two and a half years for making child pornography, followed by one year for the charge of voyeurism.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com