The owner of a Saskatoon motel pleaded guilty to assaulting one of his female workers and breaking his probation conditions.
John Pontes, owner of the City Center Inn and Suites, delivered his plea at the Court of King’s Bench Monday.
The assault took place in 2019, according to an agreed statement of facts.
The victim was originally a tenant and was offered employment at the motel to offset her rent.
The woman was subject to “unwanted and unsolicited touching,” the Court of King’s Bench heard.
The crown said the woman was initially afraid to report the assault because Pontes was her boss.
A sexual assault charge towards Pontes was withdrawn, following the guilty pleas.
A judge handed Pontes a suspended sentence of two years.
Under the suspended sentence, Pontes won’t spend time behind bars, but has to follow a set of rules. The conditions include: avoiding contact with the victim, attending court when scheduled and keeping good behavior.
The Crown proposed a condition Pontes not be allowed to be alone with female employees, but that was shut down by Pontes’s lawyer who said it would cause an “administrative disaster.”
The Crown also suggested Pontes attend anger management courses, but it was also lifted. The defense said because of Pontes’s physical ailments from his age, he wouldn’t be able to complete the classes.
Pontes is 79 years old.
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