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Vernon man sentenced to jail and ordered deported for raping 14-year-old girl

Deported for raping teen

A Vernon man was sentenced to an additional 16 months in jail and ordered deported for raping a 14-year-old girl.

Supreme Court Justice Allan Betton sentenced Christian Tanutan in Vernon court, Thursday.

Tanutan was given 18 months credit for time served as he has been incarcerated since January 2021.

In addition to the extra jail time, Tanutan will be deported once his sentence is complete.

Originally from the Philippines, Tanutan has permanent resident status in Canada, meaning he can be deported for his crime.

Crown counsel Margaret Cissel sought a sentence of three years given the “predatory nature” of Tanutan's actions, which took place in May 2020.

Cissel said Tanutan sought out his victim on social media and knew her age when he travelled from Vernon to Rutland to pick her up and three of her friends.

Cissel told the court Tanutan was 33 at the time of the offence, but told the girls he was much younger.

Tanutan brought the four teens back to his home in Vernon for a party that included himself and his roommate, where he supplied supplied them with alcohol, and the victim became increasingly inebriated as the night wore on.

Cissel said, at one point, Tanutan carried the drunk girl to his bedroom, where he took off her clothes and raped her. The act was witnessed by two of her friends who briefly wandered into the room.

Cissel said the victim's friends told authorities she was crying when she exited the bedroom.

The girl was taken back to Rutland in the early morning, where she was picked up by youth workers who were concerned about her state and took her to the hospital and contacted police.

Police found blood and semen on the girl's underwear. The semen was a DNA match to Tanutan.

Tanutan addressed the court, saying: “I did what I did. I realize it is my fault and I now know better.”

He also issued an apology to the victim.

Tanutan moved to the United States when he was 19, before moving to Canada at 25. He was married in 2016 and divorced in 2021 because of his drug use and infidelity.

He moved from Falkland to Vernon in the grips of what Betton described as an “all-consuming addiction.”



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