A 21-year-old who was found guilty of sexual interference with a 13-year-old girl will be able to continue attending school and playing hockey before serving his sentence, the CBC reported.
Connor Neurauter pled guilty last week to a sex offense charge for an incident that allegedly occurred in 2015. Neurauter was 18 years old at the time of the alleged offense.
Neurauter was sentenced to 89 days in jail, which was supposed to be served beginning last week. Instead, he'll be able to serve the sentence intermittently, the CBC reported.
Allowing Neurauter to remain free, albeit temporarily, has the victim's family upset.
"I feel for the safety of other students that you have a sexual offender attending your university," the mother, whose identify is protected as to not identify the victim, told the CBC.
Neurauter is a sophomore at the University of Calgary, studying chemistry. His father said that his son was treated fairly.
"You still gotta do your sentence. I mean, the judge's hands are tied … that's the best he could do, with part of the plea bargain, perhaps, is accommodate his education," Chris Neurauter told the CBC.
"He's very remorseful … he's learned his lesson," Neurauter added.
But some are saying the punishment is not enough, as a petition has been launched to expel the sophomore. More than 18,000 people have signed the petition.
"I really hope that by doing this petition, and getting some action on this, it will show the victims that they do matter, and maybe people will stand beside them," Kaitlyn Casswell, who started the petition, told the CBC.
The University of Calgary is reportedly reviewing Neurauter's status.
Neurauter is currently not signed with any hockey team, but has played at the "Junior A" level, which is the second-highest rung on Canada's junior hockey ladder.
