Red Deer teen guilty of sexual assaults to be sentenced in July

A Red Deer teenager who's been found guilty of sexually assaulting other teens while attending Scouts and Cadets,has had his sentencing set for July.

The teenaged manwho was 17 at the time of his arrestcan't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

He was found guilty in January of three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference over assaults of other teenagers.

The assaults took place during his involvement withScouts Canada andCadets Canada.

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Crown prosecutor Dane Rolfe is disappointed the young offender appears to continue to deny blame for his actions.

"Regardless of whether he feels he did anything wrong or not, he should acknowledge that they have suffered from it," Rolfe told CBC News Friday.

"He is still putting blame on them."

Crown wants apology letters

Rolfe is hoping Judge Darrell Riemer will consider written letters of apology and community service as part of the sentence.

"I do want the victims to know that he is accepting responsibility, and so I thought the best way to show them that he is, is by him doing a lot of community service work, whether it is ordered or not, and him writing a letter of apology saying that he is sorry that they had to go through so much pain. That's why I wanted an apology letter," he said.

"Whether the judge thinks that he can order that when the accused doesn't want to do it, it is up to the judge."

2 years probation, other conditions

The Crown is also asking for two year of probation, ongoing employment, no contact with youth under the age of 16 without an adult present, no contact with the victims, no alcohol or drugs, sexual offender counselling and a weapons prohibition.

Defence lawyer Kevin Schollie argued his client should not have to apologize because it would be hypocritical for the teen to change his stance now.

Schollie said 200 hours of community service is excessive.

He saidsteady employment has been a challenge for his client because of the case, and he's concerned the 'no contact order' with young people would affect the accused from interacting with his two young nephews.

Some evidence found unreliable

The original charges included five victims, but two were thrown out because the judge found some evidence unreliable.

Neither the Crown nor the defence are seeking jail time. The probation the Crown is asking for isthe maximum allowable for a young offender.

The accused, now 18, wore a suit and tie in court. His family sat behind him. When asked if he wanted to say anything, he declined.

Hissentencing has been scheduled for July 15 at 1:30 p.m.

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