A temporary resident from India who admitted forcing a woman into sexual acts has been sentenced to 170 days of house arrest followed by 18 months of probation after B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kevin Loo accepted a joint sentencing submission from Crown and defence lawyers.

Karandeep Singh, 24, pleaded guilty on June 30 to sexually assaulting a woman in Prince George on June 13, 2024.

According to an agreed statement of facts read in court, Singh met the woman through her cousin the month before the assault. On the day of the offence, the woman believed she had been communicating with Singh through Snapchat to arrange a bonfire at West Lake Provincial Park. Singh later claimed it had actually been a friend using his account.

Singh said he made a "mistake” by not asking the woman he forced himself upon if she wanted to have sex.

"(Justice Kevin Loo) chose not to place Singh on the national sex offender registry after hearing that he faces potential immigration consequences."https://t.co/K4Zxkmn3pp

— Jamie Sarkonak (@sarkonakj) July 9, 2026

Instead of going to the park, the group went to a basement suite near Ospika Boulevard. Court heard Singh's friend brought the woman into a bedroom while Singh remained outside, where he became "turned on and excited." After his friend left the room, Singh entered, immediately removed his pants and underwear, and forced the woman into sexual acts.

Afterward, Singh drove the woman and her cousin away from the residence.

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The victim reported the assault to Prince George RCMP the following day. After his arrest, Singh gave a statement to police, primarily in Punjabi, admitting that he had "made a mistake" because he did not ask whether the woman wanted to have sex and failed to take reasonable steps to determine whether she consented.

Justice Loo noted that Singh had been in Canada since 2023, had no prior criminal record, is married and was employed as a security guard at a Prince George hotel.

In accepting the joint submission, Justice Loo acknowledged that the proposed sentence was "below the normal range" for the offence. However, he said Crown prosecutors had agreed to the reduced sentence because of weaknesses in the prosecution's case, including potential issues with Singh's police statement involving language barriers and Charter rights, as well as the complainant's reluctance to testify at trial.

Loo also cited Singh's guilty plea and cooperation with police as mitigating factors.

"The sentence, which is the subject of the joint submission, is below the normal range," Justice Loo said. "However, they say that, in the unique circumstances of the difficulty of the Crown's case, and the other circumstances described above, this is a fit and reasonable sentence."

As part of the sentence, Singh must comply with a nightly curfew during the first 190 days of probation, have no contact with the victim or other named individuals, provide a DNA sample, and is prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years.

Justice Loo also declined to place Singh on Canada's National Sex Offender Registry, after hearing that mandatory registration could have immigration consequences for the temporary resident.