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A former co-owner of the defunct Needle Vinyl Tavern should serve a 30-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to one count of sexual assault for inappropriately touching one of his female employees, Crown attorneys argued in Edmonton provincial court Thursday.

According to the agreed statement of facts, James Leder, 39, admitted to grabbing his employee’s buttocks four times, including after being told to stop, while inebriated at the Needle Vinyl Tavern on March 10, 2017. He also admitted to striking another employee who attempted to intervene.

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The victim, Brittany Lyne Rudyck, read an impact statement directed towards Leder during the sentencing hearing.

“You chose to speak to me and grab me in ways that were humiliating and demeaning,” said Rudyck, who at the time of the incident was the bar’s social media manager.

The Needle Vinyl Tavern closed its doors, first temporarily and then for good, shortly after the sexual assault allegations emerged. Rudyck said she experienced further harassment from people who blamed her coming forward with the allegations for the shuttering of the venue. At one point, posters accusing her of lying about the allegations appeared on Jasper Avenue.