Parents sentenced for assaulting man they accused of pursuing daughter, 13

Two Port Alberni men and a woman who pleaded guilty to assaulting another man who allegedly wanted to have sex with their teenage daughter were handed conditional discharges Friday.

The two men are both stepfathers of the teenage girl. The woman is the girl's mother. They cannot be named to protect the teen's identity. Her name is under a publication ban.

The man, 36, the girl's other stepfather and the girl's mother were charged with assault causing bodily harm and unlawful confinement after an April 2018 incident where a man was shown hogtied with zap straps on the floor of a Port Alberni home.

In an interview shortly after the video was taken, the girl's mother and one of her stepfathers said they intercepted messages on their daughter's phone.

They said they then began communicating with the man, posing as their daughter. When he texted he was coming to meet her, they and a friend were waiting for him.

"I came out of the hall right as he came into the hall. We were face to face. He's like 'Oh my god' and I punched him," the girl's mother said in an interview in April.

"I just tackled him to the ground and tried to get him on his stomach," one of the girl's stepfathers said.

"I wasn't sure how to hold him there so I put some zap straps on him and left it at that."

They then called the police but when RCMP officer arrived, the couple and the other stepfather were taken into custody. The other stepfather is no longer in a relationship with the 13-year-old girl's mother but still plays an active role in her life, court heard on Friday.

According to the agreed-upon statement of facts, the 28-year-old man who the parents believed wanted to sleep with their stepdaughter was sending photos of his genitals to the 13-year old girl.

The accused man also expressed that he did not want any of the parents to be charged. 

The Port Alberni provincial court also heard when the accused arrived at the house, the 36-year-old stepfather was waiting in the bushes while the other stepfather and mother were waiting inside the house.

The mother punched the accused in the face and the stepfather hit the man with a baseball bat. The 36-year-old stepfather kicked the accused in the head and face multiple times.

The 28-year-old man suffered multiple injuries including fractures, a collapsed right lung and soft tissue swelling on his head.

The 36-year-old stepfather pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing bodily harm. He received a one-year conditional discharge.

The mother pleaded guilty to common assault for punching the man. She received a six-month conditional discharge with three conditions, including no contact with the 28-year-old man.

The other stepfather also pleaded guilty and has been handed a one-year conditional discharge with three conditions, including no contact with the 28-year-old man and can't possess any weapons. Both the mother and the stepfather who were waiting in the house had originally entered not guilty pleas.

There is an ongoing investigation into the actions of the 28-year-old man accused by the parents.

With files from CHEK News