WARNING: This article contains disturbing content.
After pleading guilty to sex crimes involving dozens of child victims, a 38-year-old man was sentenced to 18 years in prison by a judge in Edmonton on Thursday afternoon.
He will receive 45 months of credit for time he has already served behind bars.
The man cannot be named because of a publication ban meant to protect the identity of his stepdaughter who is one of his 92 victims. The victims range in age from nine to 17 years old at the time of the offences.
Faced with 123 charges, the man had previously pleaded guilty to child luring, extortion and possession of child pornography, as well as for breaching conditions of his release in connection with previous convictions.
During the man’s trial, court heard he had had accumulated nearly 1,500 images and 17 videos of child sexual abuse that he was able to procure by posing as a teenage girl online through accounts he created on the social media platforms Instagram and Snapchat. Court heard he sent victims explicit photos of his own stepdaughter to spur sexual conversations and then convinced victims to send him nude images of themselves.
Court heard the man’s victims in Canada are primarily from British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario but also from other locations as far away as the United Kingdom.
During the trial, court heard the offender would threaten to physically harm victims and their families if they did not do what he wanted.
READ MORE: Alberta police warn of continued sextortion with more than 100 victims this year
Among the eight victim impact statements submitted prior to sentencing was one from a boy who spoke about the shame and guilt he felt after he was preyed upon.
“I’ve seen a few therapists but I refuse to talk about this, it’s too embarrassing,” the victim said. “I hate myself for what I did.”
A father of a victim who struggled to get his words out said “making this victim impact statement made me want to scream and vomit and cry all at the same time.”
Another parent cried as she told the court that the man who committed the crimes has forced her son to endure a life of trauma.
As his sentence was handed down, the offender did not show any emotion. He read a statement apologizing to his victims and said he was molested numerous times by a neighbour when he was a child.
The man said he intends to undergo therapy while he serves his sentence.
In addition to the 18-year sentence, the man was ordered to comply with a number of conditions for 30 years following his release. He cannot go to parks, daycares, schoolyards or playgrounds and cannot work or volunteer with children under the age of 16. He also cannot communicate with anyone under 16 years of age without an adult being present and cannot use the internet to talk to anyone under 18.
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