13 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,F ebruary 28,2019 theifp.ca An occasional teacher who created alter egos on the Snapchat messaging app and convinced multiple young girls to send him nude photos and videos should spend nine years in prison, a Crown prosecutor says. Victor Ly's crimes, which began in November 2016 and continued for more than a year, were not impul- sive. "This was a continuous and calculated approach," prosecutor Dominique Ken- nedy said. Ly, 33, of Kitchener, re- cently pleaded guilty to 20 charges - including making child pornography, invita- tion to sexual touching, ex- tortion and luring. At the time of the crimes, he worked as a supply teacher with the Halton Dis- trict School Board and had previously taught at private schools in the Kitchener ar- ea; Ly is no longer a teacher. Police identified 171 girls that he had contact with through Snapchat, many of whom sent him sexual pic- tures or videos of them- selves. Ly often told girls the sexual act that they should film - creating "made-to-or- der child pornography," Kennedy said. Ly often pretended he was a teen boy on Snapchat - he "groomed" and manipu- lated girls, pretending that he cared about them and de- veloping "fictional relation- ships," Kennedy said. Later he would convince them - sometimes by threats - to send sexual photos or videos. He often sent them videos of him ejaculating. The girls ranged in age from seven to 15. Victims were in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. "This was a large num- ber of people," Kennedy said. "This was geographi- cally expansive, this was to- tally unrelenting." Ly spoke to one girl about meeting at a mall, but the meeting never took place. Victims said that his crimes stole their inno- cence and left them feeling violated, isolated, ashamed and sad; some spoke of loss of confidence and loss of trust. Ly told Justice Wayne Rabley that he understands some of the victims are blaming themselves. He said he is the only one to blame. "I'm so ashamed of what I've done," Ly said. Kennedy said that deter- rence and denunciation must take centre stage in the sentencing. Ly, who was accompa- nied in court by his wife, has no prior record - he will be sentenced on March 1. His defence lawyer is seeking three years in prison. FORMER LOCAL SUPPLY TEACHER ADMITS TO CHILD PORN, LURING CHARGES GORDON PAUL gpaul@therecord.com CRIME Register Today For Spring Session! Boys & Girls Programs (Kinder - Teen) 36 Armstrong Ave, Georgetown 905-877-4330 Spring Session starts April 6th For information and EASY on-line registration visit haltonhillsgymnastics.com Gymnastics Parkour Trampoline Tumbling CONTACT: Lisa Lamb 905.877.5236, Ext: 204 llamb@nhgcc.ca www.nhgcc.ca P H O TO C R E D IT :J U LI E B R O A D B E N T P H O TO G R A P H Y Booking now for the Best Dates in 2020! Some 2019 dates still available. Let usmake yourWedding Day a Memorable one! Packages starting at $99 per person The Independent & Free Press is currently working on the 2019 Halton Hills Festivals & Events Guide that will be distributed in May to homes in Halton Hills. If your organization has an event that is taking place between mid-May and Decem- ber 2019 that you would like included in the guide, please email sharrison@metroland.com the following info: name of event, date, location, website and a brief description of the event. Events must be submitted by Friday, April 5th. Get your event included in the 2019 Festivals & Events Guide The Independent & Free Press is currently working on the 2019 Halton Hills Festivals & Events Guide that will be distributed in May to homes in Halton Hills. an event that is taking place between mid-May and Decem- ber 2019 that you would like included in the guide, please email sharrison@metroland.com the following info: name of event, date, location, website and a brief description of the event. Get your event included in the 2019 Festivals & Halton Hills Festivals & Events Guide 2019