Edmonton Journal
Sunday, December 5, 2004
Page: A12
Section: Opinion
Byline:
Source: The Edmonton Journal
Idnumber: 200412050115
Edition: Final
Story Type: Editorial
Length: 123 words
Keywords: CRIME; EDMONTON; SEXUAL ASSAULTS; CHILD ABUSE; INTERNET; SENTENCES
The tough sentence handed to an Edmonton man who
sexually assaulted a 13-year-old autistic girl he met
on the Internet sends an encouraging signal that the
courts will not tolerate such predatory, vile
behaviour.
Because it is believed to be the first such case in the
country, the importance of the 4 1/2-year sentence
cannot be underestimated. Though the circumstances
were extreme — a particularly vulnerable teen who
was lured into meeting and having sex with her
assailant — such online exchanges likely occur quite
regularly in the largely unregulated world of
cyberspace. It is a relief to see such a brute caught in
the act and treated with appropriate harshness. We
can only hope his sentence will serve as a deterrent to
others.
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Prison for Internet pervert: 41/2 years for man who had sex with autistic
girl he lured out of chat room
Edmonton Journal
Thursday, December 2, 2004
Page: A3
Section: News
Byline: Chris Purdy
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
Idnumber: 200412020163
Edition: Final
Story Type: Crime; Statistics; Excerpt
Note: Ran with fact boxes “Victims’ Voices” and “Chat Rooms”, which have been appended to this story.
Length: 1006 words
Keywords: INTERNET; CRIME; EDMONTON; SEXUAL ASSAULT; CHILD ABUSE; SENTENCES
Illustration Type: Graphic, Diagram
Illustration: Graphic/Diagram: Amanda O’C0nnell Courtroom Sketch / Brian Scott Deck had unprotected sex with an autistic 13-year-old girl he first contacted in an
Internet chat room.
EDMONTON – A judge has imposed a 41/2-year
prison term in what is believed to be Canada’s first
Internet luring case involving an offender who had
sex with a young autistic girl from Edmonton.
“Repulsive, repugnant, sickening, disgusting,”
provincial court Judge Paul Adilman said
Wednesday. “A 38-year-old man and a 13-year-old
girl, sucked in by the Internet — this sends shivers up
my spine.”
The case sets a precedent for the country’s Internet
luring law, passed in 2002.
Brian Scott Deck is reportedly the first offender
sentenced for not only luring a child over the Internet
but also having sex with her, said Crown prosecutor
Steve Bilodeau. Other offenders across the country
have been caught exposing themselves to children on
web-cams. Some have been arrested by police
officers posing as children online.
Internet luring carries a maximum five-year sentence.
Bilodeau said Wednesday’s ruling sends a message to
other predators hiding behind computers.
“This should send a chill through Internet lines to all
the people at their keyboards late at night talking to
little girls and little boys on the Internet,” Bilodeau
said.
“The courts won’t tolerate this. The Internet is a
wonderful resource for children. We can’t allow it to
be perverted into a den of vipers.”
Deck pleaded guilty earlier this week to both Internet
luring and sexual interference. Adilman said he
deserved seven years for the crime but gave him two
years’ credit for time spent in pretrial custody, as well
as six months credit for sparing the girl from having
to testify.
Deck stood up briefly in court and apologized to the
victim’s family and for bringing shame on his own
family.
“If I could turn back time, it would be different,”
Deck said. “I just wish it didn’t happen.”
The girl, who cannot be named, sat in court for the
first half of the hearing before walking out with a
counsellor. Wearing braids in her hair, she often
leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder. They
refused to comment outside court.
The teen first met Deck in an MSN chat room on Jan.
5. He used the online names “edmontonpervert” and
“bsdelectro.” He told her he was 29.
The girl’s mother often monitored her computer use
and, upon discovering the correspondence, wrote
back to the man. She informed him he was chatting
with a 13-year-old autistic girl. He apologized and
signed off.
The teen has a form of autism called Pervasive
Developmental Disorder. She has a lower than
average IQ and lacks social judgment and reasoning
skills.
Despite the mother’s warning, Deck continued to
have contact with the girl. Their conversations were
“lurid,” said Bilodeau.
Deck eventually arranged to meet the girl in person
on Jan. 16. He drove to a spot near her home. They
took her family’s pet dog for a walk, then had
unprotected sex in his car.
They made plans to meet again and Deck wrote her a
note with his name and phone number, as well as a
reminder to bring along her Alberta Health Care card
so they could buy birth control pills.
The two also had sex at Deck’s home the following
day.
When he later took her out for dinner, she called her
mother from the restaurant to say she was fine and
hanging out with a teenage friend. The mother knew
she was lying because the friend had already called
looking for her.
The mother told her to wait at the restaurant while
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she called police. Deck was arrested the following
day.
Upon his release, Deck is prohibited for 10 years
from going to public places frequented by children
under 14, working or volunteering with children, or
communicating with children via computer.
Deck worked briefly as a substitute teacher before
entering the electrical trade. He is divorced with a
17-year-old daughter.
cpurdy@thejournal.canwest.com
VICTIMS’ VOICES
Both the 13-year-old girl and her mother, who cannot
be identified, wrote victim impact statements that
were admitted into evidence Wednesday. Here are
some excerpts:
– ” … I am upset at the mess in my family. I’m not
allowed to go on my computer anymore. I am not
allowed to be on the phone unless my mom answers
the phone or knows who I am talking to. I am not
allowed to go out unless someone comes and picks
me up … .
“It makes me very upset and frustrated that I’m not
allowed to do any of these things that I used to be
able to do. My life is not the same.
I was very scared when Brian did what he did.”
— Victim
– “From the minute I realized that my daughter was
with Mr. Deck my life was turned upside down. I was
scared to death that he may have left her with some
kind of STD or AIDS or hep C, and the thought that
this man took my 13-year-old daughter’s innocence
from her made me physically ill.
“I had to take a week off work to get myself back
together and have been in counselling since January,
trying to come to terms with what happened.
I need to take sleeping aids to sleep at night … .
“I am terrified to let my daughter out of my sight. I
feel like I have put her in jail … . I am always scared
for her and have become overprotective.
I wonder if I will ever get over what has happened to
her.”
— Mother
CHAT ROOMS
CHILDREN IN CHAT ROOMS
– 58 per cent of Canadian children aged 11-12 visit
Internet chat rooms. The rate rises to 70 per cent for
those 13-14.
– Of those regular chat room users, some log into
private and adult-only chat rooms — 37 per cent of
those aged 11-12; 54 per cent aged 13-14.
– Of all young Internet users, only 39 per cent have a
household rule about talking to strangers in chat
rooms.
– One-quarter have been asked by people they have
met on the Internet to meet face-to-face.
— Media Awareness Network, 2001
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Internet ‘pervert’ lured autistic teen: Chat room messages led to sex with
13-year-old girl
Edmonton Journal
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Page: A1 / FRONT
Section: News
Byline: Chris Purdy
Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal
Idnumber: 200411300153
Edition: Final
Story Type: Crime
Note: Ran with fact box “Internet Safety”, which has been appended to this story.
Length: 601 words
Keywords: INTERNET; CRIME; EDMONTON; SEXUAL ABUSE
EDMONTON – His online name was
“edmonton-pervert.”
The woman knew her daughter was in danger as soon
as she saw the disturbing name on computer
messages the girl was exchanging with a stranger in
an MSN chat room last January.
The mother wrote back to the “pervert,” informing
him that he was chatting with a 13-year-old autistic
girl. He apologized and logged off.
Nearly two weeks later, the man arranged to secretly
meet the teen. They had unprotected sex several
times before the mother discovered the girl was in
trouble and called police.
Brian Scott Deck, 38, pleaded guilty in provincial
court Monday to charges of Internet luring and sexual
interference. Deck is to be sentenced Wednesday.
Crown prosecutor Steve Bilodeau said outside court
he will ask Judge Paul Adilman to impose a sentence
of four years.
Bilodeau said the girl, who cannot be named, has a
form of autism called Pervasive Developmental
Disorder. She has a lower than average IQ and lacks
social judgment and reasoning skills.
She first agreed to meet Deck on the afternoon of Jan.
16 at a spot near her home. They went for a walk
with her family’s pet dog then returned to his vehicle,
where they had sex and made plans to meet again.
Deck even wrote her a note with his name and
number and a reminder to bring along her Alberta
Health Care card so they could buy birth control pills
for her. He picked her up the next morning and took
her back to his home, where they drank vodka
coolers and watched movies — Pirates of the
Caribbean and American Wedding.
Deck invited her to have a shower with him. They
had sex and again later in the bedroom.
He eventually took her out for dinner at Tony Roma’s
restaurant in Bonnie Doon mall. She called home to
tell her mother she was fine and hanging out with a
teenaged friend. Her mother knew the alibi was
bogus. The friend had already called looking for the
girl.
The mother convinced her daughter to describe Deck
and his car. She told her to wait at the restaurant and
called the police. Deck fled the mall but police
arrested him the following day. He has been held in
custody ever since.
Det. Rod Appelt with the Edmonton police child
protection section said the girl’s mother feels guilty
about what happened but did everything she could to
protect her daughter.
“I give her a lot of credit,” he said outside court
Monday. “This mother basically kept this girl under
lock and key but there was another avenue for this
guy to slip in there.”
cpurdy@thejournal.canwest.com
INTERNET SAFETY
KEEPING YOUR KIDS SAFE ON THE NET:
– Keep your Internet-connected computer in a public
area of your house, never in a child’s room.
– Sit with your children and find out what goes on in
a chat room.
– If you have young children, set up a dummy e-mail
account they can give out online. This will protect
their real address from predators.
– Teach your children to protect their privacy online
by not sharing personal details in chat rooms, bulletin
boards, instant messaging or websites. This includes
name, gender, age, home address, e-mail address,
phone number, picture or passwords.
– If you need a crash course in Internet orientation,
check with your children’s school teachers for
suggestions on tutorials or quick tips.
– Set clear rules about what kinds of sites your
children are allowed to visit.
– Monitor where your kids go online by checking
your computer’s history, cookie and cache files.
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Source: www.BeWebAware.com