Indian Visiting Grandchild In Canada Harasses School Girls, To Be Deported

A 51-year-old Indian man, who was visiting Canada on a six-month visitor visa, was convicted of criminally harassing two teenage girls outside their school. Jagjit Singh, who arrived in Ontario, Canada, in July to meet his newborn grandchild, will be deported and banned from coming back to the country.

Police said soon after his arrival, Singh started frequenting the smoking area outside a local high school in the Sarnia area, where he allegedly sexually assaulted and harassed young Canadian girls. He repeatedly approached young girls at the smoking area between September 8 and September 11, attempting to take photos with them, and spoke to them about drugs and alcohol, Canadian media reports said.

According to a report by The Winnipeg Sun, one of the complainants told police that she initially refused a photo but relented in hopes that Singh would leave if she complied.

But instead, he reportedly "placed himself in her personal space" and tried to put an arm around her. The girl, who felt uncomfortable, stood up and pushed his hands away.

Investigators said that Singh, who does not speak English, did not stop there and allegedly followed female students as they left school property.

The Indian man was arrested on September 16 and charged with sexual interference and sexual assault. He got bail a couple of days later but was rearrested after a new complaint surfaced from the same day. He again received bail the next day but had to spend one more night in custody, as no interpreter was available at the time.

On September 19, Singh pleaded not guilty to sexual interference but guilty to the lesser included offence of criminal harassment at a Sarnia courtroom. The judge noted that Singh had "no business attending at the property of (that) high school."

“This type of conduct will not be tolerated," Justice Krista Lynn Leszczynski noted.

Singh's lawyer told the judge that he had a ticket to return to India on December 30, but the judge ordered his deportation and a ban on his entry into Canada.

He also got a three-year probation order that bans him from talking to either girl or being where they live, work or go to school; from being around or talking to anyone under age 16, except his newborn grandchild; and from being within 100 metres of any pool, school, playground, park or community centre.