An Australian man who flew to Edmonton to have sex with an underage girl was sentenced to one year in jail Tuesday, but won’t serve any more time behind bars.
The judge gave Jiashu Weng, 22, credit for time served.
Weng was arrested at an Edmonton hotel last year and charged with luring to facilitate illegal sexual contact with a child, luring to facilitate the making of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) said the mother of a 13-year-old girl found online conversations between her daughter and a man.
READ MORE: Australian man faces child luring charges in Edmonton; mother finds texts ‘literally just in time’
She contacted Edmonton police, which resulted in the arrest of a man at an Edmonton hotel on Feb. 10, 2017. ALERT said it was “very clear what the intentions were.”
Officers said the interaction started on a gaming application and then moved to other networks.
Weng pleaded guilty to luring for sexual contact with a child in November 2017. The luring for making child pornography charge and the possession of child pornography charge were withdrawn.
READ MORE: Trial date set for Australian man charged in Edmonton child luring case
An agreed statement of facts said Weng was honest with the girl about his age and identity. Court documents said “the accused had good reason to believe that she was 14.”
- Toronto Pearson gold heist: Ontario man arrested at airport after arriving from India
- Man charged in surfer deaths told girlfriend he killed ‘3 gringos,’ court hears
- ‘I believe they’re looking for me’: Man arrested after triple stabbing in Mississauga, Ont.
- Drone used to smuggle $250,000 worth of contraband into N.B. prison, police say
“In addition, they both expressed their love for one another.”
According to court documents, the judge found the accused’s “emotional attachment to the complainant was sincere.”
The judge also said that while plans were made for the two to meet at the hotel, “that was never going to happen.”
Court documents show Weng planned a trip from Australia to Edmonton with his “extremely protective mother” and they rented a small hotel room together.
Aggravating factors in the case included that the accused travelled for about 20 hours — and spent several thousand dollars — to get from Australia to Edmonton, and “encouraged the complainant to keep sending him naked pictures of herself.”
The Crown said Weng will be deported soon.
WATCH: ALERT Insp. Dave Dubnyk reiterates the importance of parents having tough conversations with their kids regarding social media activity.
Comments