Former junior hockey player sentenced to two years for sexual interference of a minor

By Keith Lacey, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Penticton Herald

NOTE: The following article contains details of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

A former junior hockey player and coach was sentenced to two years in prison Monday after being found guilty of sexual interference for having unprotected sex with a young teenager he had just met online more than four years ago.

During an emotional sentencing hearing at the Penticton Courthouse, Justice Lynett Jung sentenced Liam Noble to two years less one day after finding him guilty of one count of sexual interference in early November of 2024 following a brief trial.

Noble’s lawyer, Cory Armour, asked the court to alter the sentence to two years plus one day, stating his client would benefit more from services and programming offered in the federal penitentiary system, as opposed to serving his time in a provincial jail.

Jung agreed to the request after speaking briefly to Noble.

The court heard Noble, then 20, invited a teenage girl, then age 14, to his home after meeting her on social media. The complainant testified she told Noble she was about to enter Grade 10 before the two engaged in a consensual sexual encounter.

Noble admitted to the sexual encounter, but argued he believed the girl was 17, based on online conversations and assumptions shared by his roommate.

However, Jung ruled Noble failed to take reasonable steps to confirm her age.

Jung described Noble’s actions as “cavalier,” stating he had an obligation as an adult to verify the complainant’s age rather than rely on assumptions.

Sentencing had been delayed multiple times, including to allow for a Gladue Report after the defence identified Noble’s Métis heritage, as well as due to a prior suicide attempt.

Crown attorney Ann Lerchs had asked the court to impose a three-year penitentiary term, while Armour had asked Jung to issue a conditional sentence of two years to be served in the community under very strict conditions.

Noble’s parents were in tears as court officers placed him in handcuffs and led him from the court to begin serving his sentence.

Noble played parts of two seasons with the Penticton Vees and also played for the Nelson Leafs in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, before being hired as an assistant coach in Princeton, another team in the KIJHL.

Court heard Noble’s coaching career ended when he was charged in this matter.

A publication ban was issued by Jung to protect the identity of the victim, who was in Grade 10 at the time.

Noble’s sentencing had been repeatedly delayed. It was first postponed last July when Armour told the court Noble had attempted suicide days before the hearing.

When sentencing was rescheduled last fall, Armour requested another delay after discovering that Noble has Métis heritage and sought a Gladue Report — a pre-sentencing report that considers the background and systemic factors affecting Indigenous offenders.

Jung reluctantly granted the request, noting that the case dated back more than four years.

Originally from Dawson Creek, Noble spent several years in Penticton, first playing for the Okanagan Hockey Academy before joining the Penticton Vees of the BCHL from 2018-2020 where the forward had two assists in 45 games. He later played for Nelson and briefly served as an assistant coach with the KIJHL’s Princeton Posse in 2022.

The trial heard that Noble, then 20, met the complainant through a social media site and invited her to his Penticton home after she finished work. The girl testified she told Noble she was about to start Grade 10. She said they chatted briefly before engaging in a sexual encounter.

Noble admitted the two had sex but maintained he believed she was 17 — a claim he said was based on what she told him online and what his roommate also believed. He testified that he never asked her age in person and saw no reason to question her appearance or behaviour.

Armour argued Noble’s belief was reasonable under the circumstances and that the law did not require him to demand identification.

Both lawyers agreed the case hinged on whether Noble took all reasonable steps to determine the girl’s age.

In her ruling, Jung said Noble did not. While she accepted that he believed the girl was older, that belief was not backed by sufficient effort or caution.

“He simply put the complainant’s age out of his mind … his approach was cavalier,” Jung wrote in her decision. “As an adult, he had an obligation to take all necessary steps to find out how old she was.”

The judge noted that although the complainant mentioned she was in Grade 10, that detail was not central to the verdict. What mattered, Jung said, was that Noble never verified her age despite recognizing she was still in high school.

Jung said the victim made it clear in her victim impact statement that this incident caused immense harm as she’s had difficulty maintaining relationships and suffers from anxiety. She also had to attend numerous counselling sessions, which she still attends, which have caused financial hardship to herself and her parents.

Noble had no previous criminal record, apologized to his victim, has taken and is benefitting from counselling and has sought employment in another field outside of hockey, said Jung.

At the time of this incident, Noble “called himself an asshole” and admitted to being caught up in the “hockey mindset” that involved “partying and girls”, said Jung in handing down her decision.

The victim in this case was only 14 years of age and “could not give consent” under Canadian law and Noble alone is to blame for not taking sufficient steps to discover her age, said Jung.

Mitigating factors in Noble’s favour include him having no previous criminal record, apologizing to the victim, taking counselling and making numerous admissions at trial that made the victim’s testimony less stressful and harmful, said Jung.

Noble also has strong family and community supports, has shown insight into his misconduct in this matter and has shown remorse, she said.

There were numerous serious aggravating factors, including the age of the victim, the longstanding psychological and financial damage she has endured and the fact there was unprotected sex, which could have resulted in pregnancy or receiving a sexually transmitted disease, said Jung.

Under all the circumstances, a sentence of two years less one day is appropriate and a conditional sentence to be served in the community would not sufficiently address the legal sentencing principles of denunciation and deterrence, she said.

Noble was ordered to submit a DNA sample. He will also be placed on a federal sex offender registry for 20 years and was ordered to not possess any firearms or ammunition for 10 years.

He was also ordered to not attend any public place where people under the age of 16 regularly gather for two years following his release from jail.

Noble, who had been free on bail for more than two years, still faces charges in Kelowna – one count of common assault and one count of theft under $5,000 – from an alleged incident on Aug. 5, 2025.