Feb 6, 2007
Stepfather jailed 7 years for sex abuse

Man, 55, pleads guilty to six charges, including sexual assault, sexual exploitation, making child pornography and being a party to incest

By JANE SIMS

LONDON -- To the world outside his dysfunctional household, he was just another awkward, shy high school kid.

He held a secret he knew had the potential to break up his family. And he would not tell.

His stepfather, an American long-haul truck driver, was routinely forcing him into having sex with his mother, sometimes handcuffing and tying the mother to the bed.

He would photograph him and videotape him having sex with his mother.

"This is what daddy's little man is suppose to do when I'm away," he would tell him.

For six years, the boy, now 20, and mother endured what seems to be all possible sexual humiliations and abuse. "The pain he caused us is overwhelming," said the petite mother, whose identity is protected by court order.

"I lost my childhood because of him," said his stepson.

While his stepfather was home from work the boy was routinely forced into sex acts by the stepfather with his fundamentalist Christian mother.

Yesterday, the man, 55, pleaded guilty in London court to six charges -- two of sexual assault, two of sexual exploitation, one of making child pornography and one of being a party to incest -- and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

"I was wrong, I agree," the man said with a distinct southern drawl. He's been in custody since September 2007.

He looked toward his victim and cried. "I'm sorry. I wish I could change it."

Jenkins called the man's conduct "unspeakable acts."

"There is very little I can say in your favour," he said adding the case was "deserving of the harshest possible censure."

The sentence was a joint submission from defence lawyer Ron Ellis and assistant Crown attorney Peter Kierluk.

Kierluk read an agreed statement of facts that painted a shocking picture of what was happening in the household.

The boy's mother and the man met in an Internet chat room in 1997. He came to London and moved in full time in 2002 and married the woman in 2004.

The police became involved in September 2007 when a woman  contacted them. She had been invited from a local bar to their home by the stepfather. She told police that after a couple of drinks the stepfather brought the mother and son naked into the living room and had them perform sex while she watched.

Police seized three computer systems from the house. There were several hundred images of other boys in sexual acts with adult women. And there were two DVDs containing 3623 images and 18 videos of his stepson and wife participating in various sex acts together.

They also found 25 Internet web camera chats of the boy talking to various men and women about his sexual relationship with his mother and inviting them to come to their home and watch.

He was 16 at the time.

Two men and one woman have been identified from the chat records and arrested. Only one of the men admitted to actually going to the home and over a three day period watching the mother and son having sex together. The man has also admitted to having sex with the mother several times while she was tied to the bed with the stepfather and son watching.

When the boy was interviewed, the story became more shocking.

The son, who suffers attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, was often allowed to perform sex on his tied up mother as reward for good grades or doing his chores properly.

Later, his mother, who is also facing charges, admitted she had sex with her son over several years.

Police interviewed the mother, who confirmed the boy's story and admitted to having sex with her son while the stepfather and other people watched.

The boy is now in university but had to drop out for a time because of stress. The man will likely be deported once he serves his full sentence. He was ordered to take treatment and provide a DNA sample.

JANE.SIMS@SUNMEDIA.CA

This story begs the question; If he was a long haul trucker, and apparently away from home for long periods of time, why didn't they go to the police when he was away? Why did it take a third party to go to notify the police?