NOBEL PRIZE WINNER ON CLIMATE CHANGE Page A3
THURSDAY
K A M L O O P S
THIS WEEK
Thursday, April 3, 2014 X Volume 27 No. 38 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
THE BUZZ ON THE CITY’S NEW BYLAW Page A4
COACH GETS YEAR IN JAIL FOR SEX CRIMES By Cam Fortems STAFF REPORTER
cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
Calling it a breach of trust, a B.C. Supreme Court justice has sentenced to a year in jail a minor hockey coach who engaged in a sexual relationship with one of her players. Justice Hope Hyslop sentenced Heidi Ferber, 43, to one year on each count of sexual interference of a person under 16 and sexual exploitation. The sentence, which was handed down on Wednesday, April 2, will be served concurrently. Ferber will also be
on probation for 18 months, during which time she cannot be in the presence of anyone under the age of 16 or be within 100 metres of her victim, Chanelle Petrie. Hyslop exceeded the sentencing position of the Crown, which asked for jail in the range of six to nine months. Defence lawyer Michelle Stanford argued for a 90-day sentence to be served on weekends up to six months in jail. “Ms. Ferber took advantage of her [Petrie] for her own sexual purposes,” Hyslop said. “It was a position of trust.”
Victim Chanelle Petrie, now 18, came to Kamloops from her home in Calgary to witness the sentencing of her former hockey coach. Heidi Ferber was sent to jail for 12 months after being convicted of sexual interference of a person under 16 and sexual exploitation. Dave Eagles/KTW
Hyslop said while she believes Ferber is remorseful today, the coach knew what she was doing between fall 2010 and late 2011 was wrong. She engaged in multiple sexual encounters with Petrie in that period, including on team road trips. “Ms. Ferber knew the behaviour was against the law,” Hyslop said. “She told Ms. Petrie not to tell anyone . . . She encouraged her to be secretive and deleted text messages.” Crown prosecutor Don Mann argued before sentencing for the hearing to be re-opened, saying he wanted to call a witness who would testify to what he called an “inappropriate” relationship between Ferber and a
HEIDI FERBER former student. Ferber no longer teaches. That relationship was not criminal, however, and Hyslop declined to re-open the hearing and listen to testimony. In her victim-impact statement, Petrie said the actions four years ago make it “impossible ever to seem like a kid again.” Hyslop earlier agreed to lift a publication ban on Petrie’s
name after Kamloops This Week made a successful application based on Petrie’s desire to go public. “I was young and had a relationship of someone in their 20s,” she told reporters outside the courthouse. “It made me grow up a lot faster than my age was at the time. It definitely took away my kid years.” Ferber made a tearful apology prior to the sentencing, often stopping to collect herself. “To Ms. Petrie, I know I made wrong decisions and choices,” she said in court. “I know this hurt her and I’m sorry for that . . . I made some huge mistakes I can’t change. There’s ripples that will go on for a long time.” X See FERBER A7
Daughter of woman killed by driver says he should go to jail By Tim Petruk
STAFF REPORTER
tim@kamloopsthisweek.com
The Crown wants to jail a Kamloops man who has never in his life held a valid driver’s licence but has been busted behind the wheel five times in the last three years — including after he struck and killed a pedestrian in a downtown crosswalk in 2012. Donald Charles Isadore, 63, was convicted in Kamloops provincial court on Tuesday, April 1, of one count of failing to yield to a pedestrian stemming from the Nov. 21, 2012, death of Valerie Brook. Brook, 66, was walking across a Victoria Street crosswalk at Sixth Avenue on a green light while Isadore was turning left from Sixth onto Victoria. A police officer testified her body was thrown between
6.9 metres and 9.5 metres after being struck, and there was no evidence of Isadore having applied the brakes in his vehicle prior to the collision. Brook’s family filled half the courtroom as Kamloops provincial court Judge Stella Frame read her verdict. Loralie Loewen, Brook’s youngest daughter, said she wasn’t surprised to hear Isadore was guilty. “It would be pretty disgusting if he wasn’t found guilty, but it doesn’t help the situation, really,” she told KTW outside court. “I think we’re all still so blown away that we’re not going to get any closure. “It’s one of those terribly unbelievable things you wish would never happen to anybody you know.” The Crown has not indicated how long a jail term it will seek for Isadore, who has a lengthy record of driving offences despite the fact he’s never been a licenced driver
other than a learner’s permit he held briefly in the 1980s. Less than three weeks before Brook was killed, Isadore was handed a 30-day jail term and fined $500 for a separate driving while prohibited conviction, which also saw him placed on a two-year driving ban. In 2011, he was jailed for 14 days for another driving while prohibited conviction. And, following Frame’s decision this week, he pleaded guilty to two additional driving while disqualified charges stemming from separate incidents in January 2013 — weeks after Brook was killed. Loewen said she thinks Isadore deserves to go to jail. “He should, I guess,” she said. “You do something illegal, get someone killed, then yes.” Lawyers will return to court on April 10 to set a date for sentencing, which will likely take place in June.
Expect more. Now in Kamloops at 453 Victoria St. West. ÜÜÜ°V LiÀÌVÀi>Ì Ûi°V (604) 681-5386
JVÀ>vÌÃ > Ã «ÃÊUÊVÀ>vÌÃ > V Ã °V