A 53-year-old Burnaby father of four who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl two years ago could face deportation after being sentenced to three years in jail.

A 53-year-old Burnaby father of four who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl two years ago could face deportation after being sentenced to three years in jail.

Anthony Montano Jaden pleaded guilty last month to sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl, identified in court documents only as “A.U.”

Jaden had met the girl’s mother a few months earlier and began visiting her mom three or four times a week, bringing groceries and sometimes giving her mom money, according to court documents.

During one of the visits to the apartment, where the girl lived with her mother and young nephew, Jaden got keys from the mother.

“Soon after obtaining the keys to the apartment the accused started to visit while A.U.’s mother was away at work,” states a Sept. 20 sentencing ruling by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Joyce DeWitt-Van Oosten. “He would often bring groceries for A.U. and her mother. During these visits the Accused embraced and/or hugged A.U. numerous times.”

At about 8 a.m. on July 16, he let himself into the apartment and called to the girl to join him in the living room.

Shortly after, he sexually assaulted her in an empty bedroom while her young nephew slept in another room.

“Before the accused left the apartment, he gave A.U. a $20 bill and told her he would return later,” DeWitt-Van Oosten states. “A.U. did not consent to the sexual assault.”

The Crown prosecutor called for a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Jaden.

The defence called for two years less a day, noting Jaden has no criminal record, he turned himself in when he heard police were looking for him after the offence, he pleaded guilty and he is the main provider for his wife and four children, two of whom have special needs.

DeWitt-Van Oosten further noted Jaden’s offence didn’t involve prolonged or serial abuse, threats or gratuitous violence “beyond the act of sexual intercourse.” Still, she concluded his “moral blameworthiness is high.”

“He is 53 years old, an educated and intelligent man, who committed a serious sexual assault against a child without any apparent regard for its impact on her well-being,” she said. “On the facts of this case, he was indifferent, and there appears to be no explanation for the offence other than his own gratification.”

In sentencing Jaden to three years in jail, DeWitt-Van Oosten said it was important his conduct be denounced and the sentence send a message to others.

“Persons who may be like-minded need to understand that this form of criminality will attract significant punitive consequences,” she said.

Jaden and his wife and son came from Sudan to Canada in 2002 as part of a refugee resettlement program. They settled in Burnaby and had three more children.

As a permanent resident, Jaden’s three-year sentence could lead to a deportation order without a right to appeal.