A Fort McMurray man was sentenced Wednesday, after pleading guilty to charges he faced in connection to a 14 month online relationship with a teenaged girl in Ireland.
Jashua Tremblay, 34, pleaded guilty to charges of luring to facilitate child pornography and luring for sexual contact, and sexual interference.
Court heard Tuesday that Tremblay had first made contact with the girl online when she was 13-years-old in 2012, and the two talked for more than a year. Eventually, he had her share sexual images with him online.
Over the course of their involvement, Tremblay traveled to Ireland to meet and have sex with her when she turned 14.
Her father later found a letter Tremblay had sent to her, and he contacted Tremblay, who had claimed to be 19-years-old, and Tremblay said he would stop contacting the girl.
Later on, he flew back to Ireland to meet with the girl again; he was there for 10 days. He was caught after the pair was seen coming out of a vacation home he had rented there, and neighbours called the girl’s father.
On Tuesday, Tremblay apologized repeatedly for his actions.
The Crown cited the seriousness of the case, and the fact that Tremblay didn’t stop his involvement with the girl after being caught – the Crown asked for a five year global sentence.
Tremblay’s defence said he made bad decisions as his marriage was falling apart, and he was taking responsibility for his actions, and asked for a four year global sentence.
On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Tremblay to 4 and a half years behind bars.
UPDATE: Once he is released, Tremblay will banned from contacting anyone under the age of 16 on the internet, with the exception of his own children, and he's banned from working and volunteering with children. Both bans will be in place for ten years.
With files from David Ewasuk
