Sudbury man says he pretended to be a pedophile to 'numb the pain'

Through hours and hours on the witness stand, Michael Tomasik maintained that the numerous times he discussed abducting and having sex with children was a coping mechanism, not a criminal plot.

The 35-year-old Sudbury man faced a full day of questioning during the cross-examination by assistant Crown attorney Julie Lefebvre.

She detailed how, over the last nine years, Tomasik repeatedly discussed having sex with children with people he met online, as well as three different Sudbury prostitutes.

"That is what turns you on. That is your sexual preference," said Lefebvre.

"That is how I act out," Tomasik answered.

"So, it has nothing to do with sexuality?" asked Lefebvre.

"No." said Tomasik.

Tomasik told the court he suffers from mental health problems and tried to kill himself in 2007. He said the sexual role play helps him to block out harmful thoughts. He broke down crying several times during his day-long testimony.

"I go to these people to act out my negative feelings and emotions," he said.

"That's the way I act out. That's the way I take away the pain."

"You can't resist your desire to have sexual relations with a child and that's why you're hiring people," Lefebvre said during her cross-examination.

"I didn't want to have sexual relations with a child," said Tomasik. "It was role play."

'I need to know that no one will find out'

Lefebvre went over Tomasik's relationship with one prostitute in great detail, reading their texts from January 2014.

They discussed kidnapping a young girl, taking her somewhere and having sex with her — something Tomasik offered the prostitute $200 to help with.

"That's definitely not enough," she texted back.

They discuss the price over several texts, finally settling on $500. 

"Never done it, but $500 turns me on," the woman writes. "But if we do this, I need to know that no one will find out."

Over the next few days, Tomasik repeatedly texts the woman back asking more about the plan to abduct a girl.

"Just tell me you want to be a pedophile," he writes.

"I don't know. This is too much. I'm not ready to be a pedophile. You're pushing too hard," the woman answers.

"OK. I'm backing off, erase my messages, text me when you can," writes Tomasik.

Prostitute was 'negotiating,' not role playing

In court, he explained that he didn't want "people to read it and take it out of context."

"This is serious talk here," said Lefebvre.

"No, this is a role play," Tomasik replied.

"That's what you think you're doing? You're playing alone," said Lefebvre. "She's pretty freaked out."

A few more days go by and Tomasik texts: "I want a girl. Help me get one. $500."

"I want some money up front though," the prostitute wrote back.

"She's not role playing. She's negotiating," Lefebvre told the court.

Soon after, the woman reported Tomasik to Sudbury police and he was arrested.

The court heard that his family put up $65,000 for his bail, but he breached it a few months later by chatting with someone online about incest who turned out to be an undercover police officer.

Final arguments in the case are expected Friday, but the final verdict is likely still weeks away.