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Idle Eyes frontman, Trail native, sentenced to house arrest

Campbell avoided jail time at the Feb. 5 sentencing in the Vancouver courthouse.
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Idle Eyes, Tad Campbell (middle). Photo: Idle Eyes Facebook page

Trail-born musician Tad Campbell, frontman for the 1980s band Idle Eyes, is in his second month of house arrest following a guilty conviction for sexually assaulting an underage girl in the Lower Mainland 25 years ago.

Following a three-day trial last August, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Michael Brundrett acquitted the 66 year old of a second charge of sexual interference.

Campbell avoided jail time at the Feb. 5, 2021 sentencing in the Vancouver courthouse. Instead, he was handed a conditional sentence of 12 months to be followed by 18 months of probation.

He is subject to eight months of house arrest for the first 12 months of his conditional sentence, and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service. His conditions include that he not have contact with the victim.

Campbell was also ordered to provide a DNA sample and he is required to comply with the provisions of the Sex Offender Information Registration Act for a period of 20 years.

The case, which occurred in the Vancouver area, stems back to the late 1990s.

The victim, who was between the ages of nine and 11 at the time of the offence, testified that she idolized Campbell and his music and knew him well because her father was his friend. She also testified that Campbell often visited them at the family home.

The offence, which occurred sometime between September 1996 and January 1999, took place at the family home in Tsawwassen when the victim’s parents were away for the night.

In her testimony, the victim recounted Campbell giving her a massage under her clothing in her parent’s room. She recalled him kneeling behind her, and his arm going between her legs to massage her chest and stomach area. Her genital area was exposed, and she started to feel uncomfortable as he was reaching through her legs from behind her.

The massage continued for several minutes before the victim told him she wanted to go to sleep. She testified Campbell left the room without further incident and she went to sleep.

The Crown argued for a nine- to 12-month jail term considering the circumstances of the offence and the offender.

Campbell’s lawyer argued that a more appropriate sentence was a conditional sentence of six months.

In imposing sentence, the judge noted “there are several aggravating factors present in the circumstances of the offence. Most significantly, the complainant was a child at the time and the exploitation of the complainant at this vulnerable age carries a high degree of moral blameworthiness.”

Further, as the offence occurred in the victim’s home where she was entitled to feel safe and protected, the judge noted the significant impact it had on her life, robbing her of her innocence and leaving her despondent.

Idle Eyes, best known for its hit “Tokyo Rose,” was named most promising group at the Juno Awards in 1985.

Editor’s note: A publication ban is in place to restrict publication, broadcasting or transmission of evidence that could identify the complainant referred to in this judgment.

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Sheri Regnier

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