WINNIPEG — A southeastern Manitoba man who masturbated on a co-worker’s underwear in a bizarre bid to impregnate her has been sentenced to 18 months house arrest.

Glen Brandt, 48, of the Steinbach area, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of voyeurism. He was the manager at a Landmark hog farm where the victim worked.

Brandt admitted to spying on the woman as she showered at work and taking pictures of her with his cellphone. Brandt’s wife later found videos of the woman showering on their home computer.

Brandt’s actions demanded a custodial sentence, not probation, as requested by the defence, said Judge Lee Ann Martin.

“The circumstances of this particular offence of voyeurism are serious as they go beyond the mere invasion of privacy and effect the physical and emotional integrity of the victim,” Martin said. “The placing of (Brandt’s) semen in (the victim’s) underwear fundamentally affected her physical integrity.”

The offences occurred between 2005 and 2006 but only came to light in 2011 after the victim’s pastor told her Brandt confessed he had “sinned against her.”

Court heard Brandt had become infatuated with the victim and masturbated on her underwear when she showered at the end of her work shift. Brandt admitted he kept track of the woman’s menstrual cycle in the hopes she would become pregnant with his child.

The woman did have a baby approximately nine months later but DNA tests confirmed her husband was the father.

“Day and night I worried about what the tests might show,” the woman wrote in a victim impact statement. “It was excruciating and intensely stressful.”

Brandt confessed to his pastor in 2005 and had been undergoing counselling for years before the pastor told the victim what he knew.

The victim said church members discouraged her from going to police and made her feel she was to blame for what happened.

“Her life has been turned upside down,” Martin said. “She cannot fathom how people she believed would protect and support her could hide this offending conduct from her for so many years.”

Martin said she is satisfied Brandt is truly remorseful for his actions. A probation report assessed him as a low risk to reoffend.

Martin ordered that Brandt observe an absolute curfew for the first 12 months of his sentence and have no contact with the victim.

dean.pritchard@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @deanatwpgsun