B.C. man’s ‘very poor’ decision to let child sleep over not criminal, judge rules

The community of Quesnel, B.C., is seen in an aerial photo published by the provincial government.

A middle-aged man who let a 10-year-old boy spend the night at his house, unbeknownst to the child’s family, made a “very poor” decision but is not guilty of abduction, a B.C. judge has ruled.

The boy’s mother reported him missing after he didn’t return to their home in Quesnel, a small community in the province’s Cariboo region, on the night of July 21, 2022.

The alarming incident eventually led to charges against Jason Adam Penner, who was 44 years old at the time of the sleepover.

But in a decision issued this month in B.C. Supreme Court, Justice Anita Chan found the accused’s behaviour did not rise to the level of criminality.

“There is simply no evidence that Mr. Penner intended to take (the boy) and intended to keep (him) away from his mother,” Chan said, in her reasons.

“Mr. Penner asked (the boy) if his parents were agreeable to him coming over and (he) replied they were.”

The court heard Penner and the 10-year-old initially met up “randomly” outside a Circle K convenience store, where they discussed hockey cards.

Penner then took the boy home to look at some rare collectibles, and invited him to return the next day.

“There is no evidence that Mr. Penner did anything more than that,” Chan said. “The next day, (the boy) decided on his own to visit Mr. Penner.”

The child ultimately spent the night, in Penner’s bedroom.

A neighbour testified that he saw the two of them outside Penner’s home that afternoon, and came over to speak with them. He told the court he asked the boy if his parents knew he was there, and was told that they did.

The neighbour described Penner as a simple man with a childlike mentality.

Earlier in the day, Penner bought them candy and ice cream, and made plans to host a garage sale where the boy could make money – all things the Crown argued amounted to enticement to spend the night.

Chan disagreed.

“There is no evidence that Mr. Penner did anything specifically to make (the boy) stay at his residence,” she said. “This is confirmed by the evidence of (the child, who) agreed he was free to leave at any time.”

The judge noted a minor’s consent is not a defence against abduction charges – which carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison – but such charges do require that the accused intended to deprive the parents or guardian of their child.

The prosecutors did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Penner had that intention, Chan said.

“This is not to say Mr. Penner bears no blame for the incident,” she added. “In my view, Mr. Penner’s decision to allow (the child) to stay overnight was a very poor one.”