A man previously convicted of sexually assaulting a woman at a construction site in Abbotsford has received a suspended sentence and 18 months’ probation.
A sentencing hearing for Harjinder Gill, 57, was held Friday in Abbotsford provincial court.
A suspended sentence means Gill will receive a criminal record and could go to jail if he violates the conditions of his probation.
The 33-year-old victim testified that she was collecting rocks – a hobby of hers – on the morning of Sept. 13, 2014, in a vacant lot at the northeast corner of Trethewey Street and Simon Avenue when she was approached by Gill, whom she did not know.
He offered to help her with her sweatshirt, which was draped over her shoulders. She said that as he reached to grab the shirt as he was facing her, he brushed the back of his hands against her breasts and pressed on them.
The woman backed away from Gill on her bike, and he then came around to her left side and again insisted on fixing her sweatshirt.
As he put the sleeves over her shoulders, he grabbed her breasts and squeezed, “like testing the ripeness of a cantaloupe,” the woman testified.
The woman left the scene and reported the incident to police. Gill was still at the construction site when they arrived, and he was arrested.
At his trial, Gill suggested that the contact with the woman’s breast was not intentional or for a sexual purpose.
But the judge did not believe Gill’s testimony and found him guilty of sexual assault.