WARNING: This article contains details of a criminal sexual assault trial which may be disturbing to some readers. If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual violence, contact Archway Society for Domestic Peace at 250-542-1122. All programs are easily accessible, free of charge and confidential.

A Vernon businessman and former hockey player and coach is being put behind bars for nearly two years.

Keith Chase was sentenced in Vernon Court Thursday, April 24, to 23 months in jail for sexual assault. It's the second time he has received this exact sanction from the courts on this offence, as he'd been given a 23-month sentence following a trial in 2022, a decision he quickly appealed. 

Chase, the owner of Chaser's Bottle Depot, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl in 2004. She was a close family friend and a player on the hockey team Chase was coaching at the time. The offence involved three instances of sexual assault that took place on the same night, in Chase's home the night before a hockey game. The victim's name is protected by a publication ban. 

Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan found Chase guilty of the sexual assault in February, and on Thursday afternoon, following sentencing submissions from the Crown and defence, a victim impact statement and a lengthy, emotional statement from the accused, she handed down her sentence and Chase was placed in handcuffs. 

Five days were taken off Chase's sentence to account for the time he spent in custody in between his previous conviction and his release on bail following his appeal. 

More to come.