Gordon Kornelson guilty of sexual assault

Gordon Kornelson, 80, has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a relative repeatedly for eight years starting when she was four years old.

The victim asked there not be a publication ban, which is why identifying information can be published. Kornelson pleaded guilty in Winnipeg court and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5 at 1 p.m. in Winnipeg.

Now retired, he is well known in Steinbach for his work in business and charity. Kornelson was employed as a loans manager at Steinbach Credit Union for 29 years until 1995, according to court documents. He was then an accountant.

Kornelson also served on the Steinbach MCC Thrift Shop board from 1974 to 2019, for a time serving as chair.

The Crown has asked for eight years of custody, plus conditions that include not being allowed to work with or have unsupervised contact with children. He will be put on the federal sex offender registry.

The defence has asked for his sentence to be served in the community with house arrest.

The victim’s mother first reported the crime on June 28, 2022. The girl gave Steinbach RCMP a statement the next day, describing the abuse.

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She described that Kornelson had been rubbing and touching her breasts and vagina when she went to visit him at his home.

She said it would happen in the living room while watching TV. He would be on the couch and ask her to sit on him. He would pull a blanket over top and sexually assault her. Court heard this would often happen with others in the home without their knowing.

“She said it had been going on as long as she could remember,” said Crown attorney Jennifer Neufeld.

The victim estimated that memory stretched to when she was four years old. It only stopped when she was 12 because the COVID pandemic in 2020 ended her visits to Kornelson’s home.

Kornelson was arrested the next day, June 30, 2022.

He admitted to police to touching her breast area but at first said he could not recall any other areas he touched. He agreed it happened on his couch during visits. He did eventually agree to the victim’s version of events.

While Judge Kael McKenzie has reserved judgement, Kornelson may be unlikely to receive a community sentence.

At a March 26 sentencing hearing, Judge McKenzie told the defence that Kornelson’s moral culpability was high considering the position of trust he was in. The judge added that there was a lack of evidence for mental decline during the crimes.

The defence has argued Kornelson’s declining health makes him a candidate for a sentence outside of prison.