Former Vancouver Police Officer Sentenced

Here’s an update on criminal case from Canada in which a man had sex with his sister. He was sentenced to a year of house arrest. He plead guilty to a charge of incest, but not sexual assault.

The officer was given two years' probation, is ordered against taking drugs and alcohol and must remain in his home between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. The officer was banned from directly contacting his sister, and must submit a DNA sample to the national sex offender registry.

This all seems too harsh for something that should have been handled between family members. It doesn’t sound like he assaulted her. From the previous coverage, it sounds like they were both drunk and had sex without her giving sober encouragement.

The court heard a victim impact statement, that the sister’s family life has fallen apart since the crime.

Of course it has, when we shame people for natural, private behavior. If we’re going to continue to criminalize this behavior based on it being consanguineous, it is going to be hard to reach marriage equality.