Saanich man gets 14 days for groping 14-year-old girl
Times Colonist
Published: Thursday, September 20, 2007

VICTORIA -- A Saanich man who groped a 14-year-old girl after plying her with alcohol was sentenced in Victoria Provincial Court to 90 days in jail yesterday.
But the convicted man, Sergio Verduzco Bonilla, 40, walked free -- at least temporarily, his sentence stayed by a B.C. Supreme Court judge until his appeal is heard.
Last month Bonilla, a father of two kids aged four and eight, was convicted of sexually touching a young person, but acquitted of sexual assault.
The court heard two girls, both aged 14 at the time, were at the Bonilla house on Aug. 22, 2006, one of them hired as a babysitter. After Bonilla arrived home, he offered them
alcoholic coolers until the babysitter's friend fell asleep.
She awoke to find Bonilla touching her, on top of her clothing. When she adjusted her position to get away, the touching stopped.
Yesterday, Crown prosecutor Nils Jensen said Bonilla committed the offence without concern for the
trauma it could cause the teen. "His own self-gratification was more important than the kind off impact this would have on a young girl," he said.
Defence counsel Paul Pearson asked that Bonilla be allowed to serve his jail sentence intermittently, on weekends, so he could continue to work.
"His primary concern is to maintain work and support his family," he said.
Provincial court Judge Loretta Chaperon noted the charge carries a mandatory sentence ranging from 14 days to 18 months in jail, adding: "A young girl ought to feel safe when she goes to babysit somebody else's children," she said.

© The Vancouver Province 2007