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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.