Former Surrey RCMP officer charged in Creep Catchers case sentenced to 4 months

A former RCMP officer who was targeted in a Creep Catchers stinghas been handed a four-month conditional sentence, avoiding any time in jail.

Dario Devic will serve two months ofhouse arrest, followed by two months under a curfew. After that, he'll be onprobation for one year.

The former officer was arrested after he was lured by a 30-year-old woman posing online as a 15-year-old girlin September 2016.

The vigilante group behind the sting, Creep Catchers, posted a video of the resulting encounter on Facebook.

Devicwas arrested the following week andpleaded guilty to breach of trust in August.

'Well aware' of disgrace: lawyer

Lawyers for the Crown soughta conditional one-year sentence forDevicto be served in the community. They wanted himplaced under strict house arrest for the first six months, and under a curfew after that.

Devic's lawyer, Rishi Gill, had asked for a conditional discharge.

Gill said his client had a major lapse in judgment when he agreed to the meeting in 2016.

"He is well aware that he has disgraced the uniform," Gill said during a sentencing hearing last month.

The lawyer said photos sent toDevicbefore the meeting "clearly" showed an adult woman in hermid-20sor early30s.

"He's always stated that he never believed that the person was under the age of consent," the lawyer added.

Devichad also been facing a charge of luring a person under the age of 16, but the Crown dropped that charge in exchange for the guilty plea.

The deal also meansDevicwon't be a designatedsex offender.

Both Crown and defence agreedthe main purpose of sentencing shouldbe denunciation and deterrence.

Devic has since been discharged from the RCMP. Gill said he has acknowledgedhis career in law enforcement is over.

With files from Jesse Johnston

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