Saskatchewan man sentenced in historical Edmonton sexual assault case

Guy Greffard outside the courthouse in Edmonton. (CTV News Edmonton)

A Saskatchewan man has been sentenced to two-years-less-a-day of house arrest for a sexual assault case that happened in Edmonton more than 40 years ago.

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Guy Greffard was 24-years-old when he raped 15-year-old girl in an Edmonton schoolyard in the early morning hours of July 9, 1981.

According to the agreed statement of facts, the teen saw Greffard and changed her path to avoid him, but he intercepted her, exposed himself, and touched her.

In 2022 he was identified when DNA when a semen stain on the girl’s pants was matched to a familial match in a public genealogy database.

On Oct. 13, 2022 he was charged with rape and acts of gross indecency as they were defined in the 1981 criminal code.

He pleaded guilty to gross indecency in April.

During sentencing the court heard that Greffard, now 67, hasn’t been charged with any crimes since 1994 and has a limited criminal record.

He has employed a number of people at his autobody business in the small Saskatchewan town where he currently lives, and has served as a volunteer firefighter.

The judge found Greffard is a low risk to reoffend given his personal history.

He will be able to serve his sentence in Saskatchewan.

He must not leave the province without written permission and he must serve 200 hours of community service in the first 18 months of his sentence.

Additionally he may not leave his residence for the first 18 months of his sentence for anything other than work, religious activities and medical appointments.

The maximum sentence for gross indecency in 1981 was five years.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson