WARNING: Readers may find the contents of this story very disturbing.
A Saskatoon man guilty of making child pornography and sexual assault will have to wait until June to learn how he will be sentenced.
Russell Dennis Wolfe pleaded guilty to 20 charges last month. Crown prosecutors are now deciding if they will pursue a dangerous offender designation against the 58-year-old, which could result in an indeterminate sentence.
This week, a Saskatoon court heard evidence in Wolfe’s sentencing hearing that detailed abuses he committed against 14 under aged girls from 1997 to 2008.
“Russell Wolfe had been taking photographs and videos of children under the age of 14 for the most part and engaging in sexual activity,” Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli said following Tuesday’s court proceedings.
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“These girls were from our Saskatoon inner city, they went to him because they believed he was a friend.”
READ MORE: ‘It used to be for the worst of the worst’: dangerous offender designation
An allegation of facts, submitted during the hearing, details Wolfe’s sexual activity with the victims, the youngest of which was nine years old at the time.
The document includes information from statements and testimony given by some of the victims. They detail Wolfe providing alcohol, marijuana, and money to the girls, before sexually abusing them.
Videos and photographs that Wolfe took were shown in court Monday. It was noted a number of times that Wolfe was not wearing a condom during the sexual assaults he recorded.
Wolfe was arrested in 2014 after a nation-wide operation targeting sex offenders. He entered guilty pleas before his trial was set to begin.
READ MORE: Saskatoon man charged in child pornography sting out on bail
The Crown will decide by early June if they plan to pursue a dangerous offender application against Wolfe.
Wolfe’s defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said he doesn’t plan to oppose the application, however said his position will be that Wolfe be sentenced “as a regular offender or have him sentenced to … a long-term offender order so that he’ll be re-released and re-integrated at some point back into the community.”
“The ‘hands-on’ offending is dated for our purposes,” Pfefferle said Tuesday.
“Because of the time frame, that’s a significant factor that needs to be considered in our view.”
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