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Philippine Showbiz Today
August 8 - 21, 2017
Jan. 22-Feb.7, 2015
Former Vancouver school janitor jailed
for sex crime against Filipino student
A former Vancouver School
Board janitor has been sentenced
by a B.C. provincial court to 90
days in jail for invitation to sexual
touching of a person under the
age of 16.
Joel Aguirre Gumban, 45,
and originally from the Philippines,
pleaded guilty to the offence that
he committed against a Filipino
high school student.
Gumban, a father to two
young children, made the guilty
plea last November.
Judge Jodie Werier described
Gumban in her decision dated
August 2, 2017 as a “sympathetic
offender” with no criminal
record.
Werier recalled in her decision
that on October 1, 2014, Gumban
was 42 years old.
“He worked as a custodian
for the Vancouver School Board,
assigned to David Thompson
Secondary School in Vancouver.
Mr. Gumban had been working
at the school for less than a week
on September 30, 2014, when he
approached the 14 year old male
victim V.T. who, with several other
students, was doing homework
after class in the school cafeteria.
“Mr. Gumban approached
the students and made small talk.
He showed the students pictures
of his family. He then asked V.T.
if he was Filipino and spoke to
V.T. in their shared dialect. He
gave V.T. his phone number and
told V.T. to call him. Mr. Gumban
left the group of students, but
returned later and told V.T. that he
liked him and asked him where he
lived.
“On October 1, 2014, V.T. and
his two 15 year old friends were
once again studying after class
at a table in the school cafeteria.
Mr. Gumban approached their
table, and speaking to V.T. in their
shared dialect asked V.T. why he
had not called him. V.T. replied
that he was busy with homework.
Mr. Gumban said “don’t you want
to be connected with me?” and
asked V.T. if he was “scared” of
him. Then Mr. Gumban showed
V.T. and his friend P.A. pictures
on his phone including a picture
of a child who he said was his
daughter. He also showed them a
picture of a naked male, perhaps
in his 20’s, with an erect penis.
Mr. Gumban then asked them
if “they knew this guy” and told
them “that he had a lot of this”,
and asked if they “would like to
see it”. Mr. Gumban then left the
table.
“A short time later, Gumban
called V.T. over to a corner of the
cafeteria on the pretext of asking
him for a pen. V.T. walked over
to Mr. Gumban and gave him the
pen. Mr. Gumban then asked V.T.
if he’d had sex with anyone and
V.T. replied “No”. Mr. Gumban
asked V.T. “Do you want to touch
my penis?” At the time that he
asked this question of V.T., Mr.
Gumban had his right hand
on top of his own crotch. Mr.
Gumban then asked V.T. “Do you
want to eat it”; “Can you go to the
washroom??” V.T. answered “No”
to these questions. Mr. Gumban
then replied “Don’t tell your
friends or family” and V.T. replied
“OK” and then V.T. said “Give me
back my pen”.
“ V.T. returned to his friends
and felt panicky, was shaking and
his friends were aware that he was
upset. V.T. told his friends that he
needed to leave. Once they had
left the school V.T. started crying
and told his friends what had
happened. When he got home,
V.T. told his mother and then
his father about the events with
Mr. Gumban and the next day
the incident was reported to the
school,” the judge related in the
decision.
The judge sentenced Gumban
to a 90 day jail sentence, which
he will serve intermittently.
Gumban ordered to begin his
sentence on August 2, the day of
the decision.
“He will then report to The
North Fraser Pre Trial Services
Centre located at 1451 Kingsway
Ave. in Port Coquitlam, BC, at
6:00 p.m. on Friday, August 4,
2017, unless he is directed by
Corrections to serve his sentence
elsewhere and he shall remain in
custody until Sunday, August 6,
2017, at 6:00 p.m.
“Thereafter he will report
on each successive Friday at
6:00 p.m. and he shall remain
in custody until each Sunday at
6:00 p.m. until he has completed
serving his jail sentence,” the
judge ordered.
While serving the intermittent
sentence, Gumban will be subject
to a probation order which will
include the following conditions:
•
he will keep the peace
and be of good behavior;
•
he will have no contact
directly or indirectly with P.A., V.T.
or K.V;
•
he will not go anywhere
that he knows P.A., V.T. or K.V. live,
work, or go to school;
•
He will not be found
in the area bounded by East 49th
Avenue on the North, East 57th
Avenue and Argyle Street on the
South, Victoria Drive on the East
and Knight Street on the West, in
Vancouver, B.C;
•
he will have no contact
directly or indirectly with any
person known by him to be or
reasonably appear to be under
the age of 16 unless he is in the
immediate presence of Grace
Gumban or pursuant to an order
under the Family Law Act, the
Divorce Act or the Child Family
and Community Service Act;
•
he will not to attend at
any public park, or swimming area
where persons under the age of
16 are present or may reasonably
expected to be present including
any daycare centre, school
ground, playground, skating rink,
recreational centre or community
centre, unless he is in the presence
of Grace Gumban, or as provided
for in an order under the Family
Law Act, Divorce Act or Child
Family and Community Service
Act. ●
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