SECHELT — Stein Erik Iversen, a 70-year-old former Sunshine Coast resident who pleaded guilty to an early 1970s sexual assault, will serve his sentence in Merritt.

“Mr. Iversen was given a conditional sentence for two years less a day, which is the longest conditional sentence that can be enforced,” said Sechelt Crown counsel Marion West. “There was also an order made that he had to provide a sample of his DNA and register with the sexual offender information registry. Those are fairly standard orders in these kinds of cases.”
Iversen now resides in Merritt.

Iversen pleaded guilty in January to one count of gross indecency stemming from an incident that occurred sometime between January 1972 and December 1974 in Gibsons, B.C. He was charged with four other sex crimes, some related to another alleged victim, though Crown stayed those charges in earlier court proceedings.

“There were initially two complainants, but [Crown Counsel] Trevor Cockfield reviewed the file and determined that, with respect to one complainant, the substantial likelihood of conviction was not very good,” West said.

Judge Carol Baird Ellan noted in her ruling that “serving of the sentence in the community would not endanger the safety of the community” though Iverson will have 14 conditions to live under, including staying in the province, having no contact with persons under the age of 18 unless they are accompanied by their legal guardians, staying out of parks, playgrounds, or places where children may congregate, reporting to his conditional release supervisor in Merritt, and having no contact with his victim other than writing a letter of apology.

Iversen was arrested in 2006 after the victim with a “familial connection” approached the RCMP.

(Coast Reporter)