A Saskatchewan man charged with luring and sexually assaulting minors was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty Friday.
Chad Blair Clark, 26, pleaded guilty at a Battleford court to eight charges including luring for the purpose of making child pornography, sexual assault and extortion.
Court heard Clark exchanged nude pictures on Facebook with victims he knew were minors. In one instance he met up with two victims in Lloydminster, lured them into his van and forced them to commit sexual acts. In another he blackmailed a victim after a nude picture was shared. He threatened to share the picture on the Internet if the victim didn’t meet up with him.
The offences occurred between March 2012 and September 2013 in the Lloydminster area, and the case involved 13 victims between the ages of 12 and 16.
“This is a serious matter and I think the sentence the judge handed down today expresses that and expresses that those who commit crimes of this nature and who exploit people who are vulnerable can expect to go to jail for a lengthy period of time,” said Crown prosecutor Chris Browne.
A member of the Integrated Child Exploitation police unit testified investigators found five child pornography images on Clark’s computer.
“The Saskatchewan ICE Unit and the RCMP provided a very thorough and exemplary investigation into this matter and but for that exemplary work it would not have been easy to resolve the matter in the way that it was,” said Browne.
The defence said Clark suffers from depression.
Clark apologized in court, saying he’s ashamed and deserving of the sentence.
The judge said what Clark did was horrific and that a seven-year sentence was a significant sentence for significant crimes.
