METRO VANCOUVER — Former Global BC television reporter Ron Bencze was sentenced in Surrey Provincial Court Tuesday to four years in jail for sexually assaulting a young boy.
At the sentencing, Judge Robin Baird said the Crown's request of two to three years in prison was "too lenient", and his decision was greeted with sighs of relief from people in the public gallery. The defence had asked for an 18- to 24-month conditional sentence followed by probation, or an intermittent sentence.
Bencze, 45, will also have to register as a sex offender and is prohibited from using electronic devices to contact minors for the next 10 years and from going to such public areas as parks, schools, playgrounds, community centres and daycare centres for the next 20 years.
Bencze was arrested in January, 2011, and later charged with nine sexual offences related to three children. He pleaded guilty in July to one count of sexual assault involving a boy, who is now 14. The offending began when the boy was around six years old.
Bencze was initially charged with three counts of sexual assault, four counts of sexual interference, two counts of invitation to sexual touching involving three people under the age of 16 and one count of breaching his bail conditions. The remaining charges were stayed by the Crown following sentencing.
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