Offender preyed on four children in Watson Lake
A Dawson Creek, B.C. man will serve a 44-month penitentiary sentence for sexually assaulting four young Watson Lake girls.
A Dawson Creek, B.C. man will serve a 44-month penitentiary sentence for sexually assaulting four young Watson Lake girls.
Lyle Wayne Gilmore, 56, pleaded guilty last August to three counts of sexual interference.
He appeared last Wednesday in Watson Lake territorial court.
Last Thursday, Judge Peter Chisholm sentenced him to 44 months in prison.
Gilmore will serve 34 months in a federal penitentiary, as he received a 10-month credit for his time in remand.
Gilmore sexually assaulted four girls between the ages of eight and 11.
An agreed statement of facts filed to the court describes how Gilmore repeatedly sexually assaulted the girls when he was the only adult in charge.
The assaults were spread over at least two years, between Jan. 1, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2014.
According to the statement of facts filed, first, an 11-year-old told police that Gilmore would take her and other children on school nights, Fridays and weekends and touched them “where man, like boys, are not supposed to touch us.”
In all the cases, Gilmore knew the victims’ relatives.
On two occasions, he improperly touched the first girl, once in the summer when the two were watching a movie in Gilmore’s RV at the Liard Hot Springs, and once at Watson Lake’s Dragon’s Den Hotel.
The second girl, who is now eight, told police Gilmore would touch or tickle several areas of her body.
Gilmore would sometimes let the second girl drive his car.
“When they do this, (the girl) sits on Gilmore’s lap and steers the vehicle,” the statement of facts read.
“Sometimes when doing that, Gilmore touches her ‘privates’.”
Gilmore would buy the children toys, candy, clothes and give them money.
The mother of the two girls found out about the assaults when she saw a hickey on a girl’s neck.
Several of the assaults happened at the Dragon’s Den Hotel.
Sometimes over the past year – the statement of facts doesn’t give a precise date – Gilmore assaulted a third girl, who is now 10.
The girl was sleeping in the same bed as four other children at the Dragon’s Den Hotel.
Gilmore was sleeping by himself on another bed.
At around 5 or 6 a.m. that day, he improperly touched the third girl over her clothes with his hands while she was on the bed.
On another occasion, Gilmore inappropriately touched her while the girl was playing with two friends in a tent.
Two years ago, Gilmore assaulted a fourth girl, who is now 11.
While she was watching TV with a friend, Gilmore approached her, tickled both girls’ feet and went further up the fourth girl’s leg to her thigh.
“(The girl) became scared and moved her legs underneath her so she was sitting on her knees.”
Watson Lake RCMP began investigating Gilmore last April 22, after territorial victim services staff notified them of allegations made by several young girls in the community.
A mother of one of the victims found a note in which the young girl wrote Gilmore had been touching her “in the wrong places.”
He was charged on May 16 of this year with multiple counts of sexual interference.
Gilmore was convicted last April 1 of possessing property obtained by crime and sentenced to two years less a day to be served as a conditional sentence – meaning in the community.
At the time of his arrest, RCMP asked that anybody with knowledge of his activities with youth to contact them, as he was known to frequent numerous communities in southern Yukon and northern B.C.
Comments (10)
Up 2 Down 0
Annonymous on Dec 20, 2015 at 1:32 am
I agree with all the previous comments but I also don't understand why children at the age of 8-11 are not being supervised at the parental or community level. There needs to be better communication and raising of children in communities like Watson Lake. To be able to take multiple children into a hotel room in such a small community to sleep and not be noticed is quite shocking.
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Groucho d'North on Dec 16, 2015 at 5:52 pm
On the day of his release, he and all other child molesters and rapists should be dyed blue so they stand out in a crowd and can be easily identified. Enough of this hiding in plain sight anonymously. Offender rights should not trump the general public's.
Parole board members should also be responsible for over estimating a criminal's level of rehabilitation and accountable for the errors in judgement they make about an offenders readiness to rejoin society.
Up 20 Down 4
Anonymous on Dec 16, 2015 at 4:06 am
This is a gross injustice and doesn't protect children from this predator. There better be required counseling (and, an angry part of me whispers, maybe chemical castration?).
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Mary, Dec. 15.2015 on Dec 15, 2015 at 7:02 am
That is absolutely ridiculous to get 34 months for destroying 4 little girls childhoods. He should have gotten at least 40 years, 10 years for each little girl he molested. He's nothing but a creep. I hope he gets his in jail because If and when he's released he'll be right back doing it again. Once an offender always an offender. To me justice wasn't served.
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Death wouldn't be justice for what he did on Dec 15, 2015 at 12:14 am
Hope he disappears from this earth. He is vile, horrible and I send out thoughts of healing and sanity for those poor girls.
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Politico on Dec 14, 2015 at 11:17 pm
It's amazing the vitriol toward the judges when it's the politicians that give us the laws that judges rule on. The complainers keep electing politicians that won't change the rules and the complainers blame the judges for not giving stiffer sentences. And even if a judge went above and beyond the sentencing guidelines the same complainers would be in there all about those activist judges who don't follow the law. It must make the complainers happy because no matter what the laws the politicians give us we can always blame the judges!
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jc on Dec 14, 2015 at 5:52 pm
People complain when the punishment is to lax and complain when it is too severe.
Up 118 Down 6
YukonDarling on Dec 14, 2015 at 4:14 pm
Less than 4 years for damaging the lives of 4 girls. Absolutely disgusting. I don't care if he plead guilty. He should be put away for life.
Up 111 Down 4
Always a Yukoner on Dec 14, 2015 at 3:42 pm
What a insult to those young children. Sick, sick man that has to do that to poor innocent children and he only gets 44 months! Where is the justice for these children, they'll be scarred for life over this sicko! No doubt he will get what he deserves in fed pen!!!
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June Jackson on Dec 14, 2015 at 2:57 pm
He didn't even get 2 years for sexually assaulting 4 little girls? Yukon justice strikes again.
The scum seems to be oozing out of the woodwork these days. I hope in the penitentiary he receives NO mercy. Predators never give up. He will be back, or somewhere in 2 years and will continue on searching out little girls. Has justice been served? I don't think so.