A man charged with sexually assaulting a girl and convincing a minor to send him nude images will spend time in jail.
Antonio John Charlie-Matias previously pleaded guilty to separate counts of sexual assault and telecommunicating to lure a child under 16, via a joint submission from Nick Barber, Crown counsel, and Chris Churchill, defence counsel. Charlie-Matias was sentenced by Judge Justine Saunders in provincial court in Nanaimo today, May 18, and will serve two years less a day in jail for the telecommunicating charge and 18 months for the sex assault, to be served concurrently.
The sexual assault occurred on the grounds of a south-end school in Nanaimo in June 2019, when Charlie-Matias and a group of young people were drinking. A 17-year-old girl was assaulted and taken to hospital, with DNA evidence pointing to Charlie-Matias.
The luring incident took place between May and August 2020, when Charlie-Matias offered alcohol and cigarettes to a 14-year-old girl, whose identity is also protected, in exchange for nude photos via a social media app.
A Gladue report was compiled due to Charlie-Matias’s First Nations heritage. Churchill said his client has struggled with alcohol and substance abuse and spent time in foster care as a child, but is in a stable position now and has been sober for over a year.
A number of Charlie-Matias’s family members spoke on his behalf, including Dana Jack, father of his partner, who said he has made many changes the past two years. While he didn’t like him initially, he now loves him like a family member, Jack said.
The age of the victims were among aggravating factors, according to Saunders, as the younger the victim, the more traumatic it can be. However, the fact that Charlie-Matias owned up to the offences to police nearly immediately and pleaded guilty were a mitigating factors, she said.
Charlie-Matias will register as a lifetime offender per the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and will be subject to three years’ probation with a curfew between 10 p.m.-6 a.m. and is not to be anywhere where people under the age of 16 years could be.
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
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