Kelowna-area Conservative condemns OneBC post about 2006 stayed charges

Kelowna-area Conservative condemns OneBC post about 2006 stayed charges

Published 4:21 pm Tuesday, October 20, 2026

The BC Conservative candidate for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream said he’s disappointed in the “sleazy attacks” made by OneBC towards him.

OneBC posted court documents to Facebook on Oct. 16, regarding the indictment against Pavneet Singh in 2006.

The charges were that of sexual assault, sexual touching of a person under 14 and unlawful confinement. The charges were stayed in 2008.

Singh addressed the 20-year-old allegations on Facebook, stating his innocence, claiming mistaken identity in the situation and added that he has no criminal record.

“In 2006, I was celebrating Canada Day in a public park. An incident with which I had nothing to do with occurred, and I was mistakenly accused of being involved,” Singh wrote. “I was falsely accused, and when the Crown prosecutor realized that, the charges were stayed.”

A Crown-directed stay of proceedings in B.C. criminal court lasts for one year under section 579 of the Criminal Code, during which that time the Crown can restart the prosecution if new evidence is found. If the Crown does not restart the charges within that 12-month window, the stay becomes permanent and the matter is officially over.

By general policy, the BC Prosecution Service does not provide public reasons for staying charges, except in very rare cases.

“In Canada, one is presumed innocent until proven guilty – not the other way around, as my political opponents would seemingly prefer,” Singh’s social media post read. “I’m confident that British Columbians will see these despicable tactics by opponents for exactly what they are.”

Black Press Media has reached out to Singh for comment and the story will be updated should comment be received.

Singh is running against OneBC’s Alexandra Wright, BC NDP’s Binny Boparai and BC Green Party’s Carter Mochinski.

The provincial election is Oct. 24.