Former B.C. hockey coach pleads guilty to child pornography charges
A former youth hockey coach who worked in B.C.'s Lower Mainland has pleaded guilty to several sexual offences, including child pornography charges.
The plea was announced Friday by the Port Moody Police Department, which began investigating allegations against the former coach from the Burnaby Winter Club in September 2019.
"Numerous investigators worked tirelessly on this matter," Const. Sam Zacharias said in a statement. "The complex investigation spanned multiple provinces and states, and determined that well over 200 youth had been unknowingly exploited."
The coach can't be identified due to a court-imposed publication ban.
Police said he pleaded guilty to importation and distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography, telecommunication to lure a child under 18, and extortion, resulting in a 3.5-year prison sentence.
After the investigation was announced three years ago, the Burnaby Winter Club stressed that it has strict hiring procedures for coaches, which include criminal background checks and reference checks.
The coach was banned from club premises once the allegations came to light, officials said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.