Rockin’ out – to deliver God’s message page 32
Many medals from B.C. Games page 36
Friday July 30, 2010 Serving Surrey and North Delta www.surreyleader.com
No joy at verdict in Surrey sex abuse case
Delta examines wood structures and lack of sprinklers in wake of this week’s stubborn blaze
Other buildings at risk?
Father molested his own young children and their friends by Dan Ferguson
by Kevin Diakiw
CROWN PROSECUTOR Paul Sandhu said the
jailing of a Surrey man who sexually abused his own children and their young friends is hardly a cause for celebration. “I don’t think happiness can be the right emotion for anyone” Sandhu said Wednesday morning. Sandhu spoke with reporters after Surrey Provincial Court Judge Michael Hicks imposed a jail sentence of 13 years and six months on a 36-yearold Surrey father who traded homemade child pornography with other men over the internet. As Judge Hicks Prosecutor Paul called the man “a Sandhu relentless, determined predator,” the ordinary looking Caucasian man sat slumped in the prisoner’s docket, occasionally wiping his eyes. His name cannot be reported because that would identify the victims. He’s been in jail since January. The man was arrested shortly after police in Australia uncovered an international child porn ring that operated over the internet. The Surrey resident was swapping pictures and videos with pedophiles in Australia, South Africa, Ontario and the United States. The local RCMP investigation revealed the man was sexually abusing three of his own children and four of their friends and See SENTENCE / Page 4
CLOVA
THERE ARE A handful of other wood frame buildings without
BOAZ JOSEPH / THE LEADER
Neighbours watch as a firefighter elevated over a rooftop works to extinguish a stubborn fire that ripped through a North Delta apartment building on Tuesday. Delta’s fire chief says there are other, similar wood buildings without sprinklers in the municipality.
sprinklers or fire walls in Delta that could burn as hot and long as Tuesday’s blaze in the Kennedy Heights neighbourhood, according to Delta’s fire chief. The fire at the three-storey wood building began at about 6 a.m. as a one-alarm, but quickly escalated to a three-alarm blaze. The 85-unit structure just behind Kennedy Shopping Centre near Nordel Way and Scott Road was built before fire sprinklers or fire walls were required by the B.C. Building Code. Eight people were taken to hospital with what were described as minor injuries. Firefighters helped several people get out of the building by ladder. The entire building was immediately evacuated and an area was video-online] set up at nearby Kennedy Seniors Centre where displaced tenants were able to assemble. www.surreyleader.com As of noon on Wednesday, 160 displaced people had registered at the emergency centre. “The primary search has indicated that we have accounted for everyone,” said Delta Fire Chief Dan Copeland. “But we won’t know that until a secondary search has been completed.” Mayor Lois Jackson said it will be difficult to determine in short order if everyone is accounted for, as some might be on holidays or away on work. In all, there were ten fire trucks and 50 firefighters at the blaze, which took 12 hours to extinguish. Copeland said Wednesday, a day after the fire, there are “three or four” more wood frame buildings without sprinklers or firewalls that are of concern in the municipality. Jackson said she’ll be meeting with staff to see if more can be done to bring those buildings up to a safer standard. “This is something we’re obviously going to have to have a look at in terms of ownership and what we can require,” Jackson said. “I guess we do count on landlords to ensure their buildings See SAFETY / Page 3
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