TWO Surrey cricket players - including one considered a rising star in the cricket world - have been charged with child sexual offences in connection with a young teenage girl in West Vancouver.
Bhar Tekbinderpal, 19, has been charged with sexual touching of a person under 16 between June 21 and Aug. 11, 2012 in West Vancouver, while his brother Manrick Singh, 26, faces a charge of Internet luring of a child under 16 during the same time frame. Singh also faces a charge of possession of child pornography, allegedly in connection with photos of the girl.
All of the charges relate to the same teen. Authorities allege the two players knew the girl was a young teen when the alleged offences took place.
Evidence in the case is expected to include text and Facebook messages and emails.
None of the charges have been proven in court and the two men have not entered pleas in the case.
Both men played for the West Vancouver Cricket Club for several years, but left the club at the end of the season last summer.
Singh, who is considered one of the better cricket players in the country, has also previously played for the Malaysian national cricket team.
Singh is currently playing for the PakCan cricket team while Tekbinderpal plays for a Richmond cricket team - both part of the B.C. Mainland Cricket League.
Alex Turko, president of the West Vancouver Cricket Club, said he was not aware of the charges until contacted by the North Shore News. "I'm shocked," he said. "We're a community-based club."
Turko said the brothers, who played for the West Vancouver cricket club for several years, had not told him why they left the club.
Defence lawyer Michael Shapray could not be reached for comment before press time.
