Former B.C. youth hockey coach pleads guilty to child luring and child pornography charges
Former Burnaby Winter Club coach can't be named due to publication ban, police say over 200 youths affected
A former B.C. youth hockey coach who was employed at the Burnaby Winter Club has been sentenced to three years and six months in jail after pleading guilty to child luring and child pornography charges.
The coach, who can't be named due to a court-ordered publication ban, was charged by the Port Moody Police Department in September 2019.
He pleaded guilty to importing and distributing child pornography, as well as telecommunication to lure a child under 18 and extortion, on Sept. 2.
Const. Sam Zacharias with the Port Moody Police Department said numerous investigators worked on the case over a number of years.
"The complex investigation spanned multiple provinces and states, and determined that well over 200 youths had been unknowingly exploited," Zacharias said in a statement.
In 2019, a club representative had told CBC News the man had worked as a head coach for a youth team on a one-year contract from August 2018 to March 2019. He also worked as an assistant coach at the Burnaby Winter Club in 2013.
The representative had said "no red flags were ever raised" during the man's time at the club, and a criminal background check had been conducted before he was hired.