Kingston man gets 3 years in international child porn case

A 23-year-old man from Kingston, Ont., was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for his involvement in what authorities have called one of largest child porn cases ever prosecuted in Canada.

Ontario Court Judge J.C. Beaman also barred Mark Bedford for life from communicating online with people under the age of 14, and ruled that he must be registered as a sex offender for 20 years.

Bedford pleaded guilty in January to 10 charges involving victims as young as 10 years old. The charges against him included making child pornography, mischief to data, extortion, impersonation and criminal harassment.

Police and prosecutors said Bedford would entice young girls or young women to show their breasts on a webcam, and then have them perform more explicit acts by threatening to e-mail those images to friends and family.

Crown prosecutor Ross Drummond told the court in Kingston that Bedford's crimes involved several hundred girls and young women in numerous countries, 63 of whom were identified in court.

In one disturbing incident, Bedford encouraged a 12-year-old victim to commit bestiality.

The Crown said some of the victims lived in Kingston.

Speaking to the CBC outside the courthouse, one ofthe victims said the sentence did not suit the crime.

"He's only getting three [years] for what he did to these girls all over the world. It's a load of shit," said Alyscha Reda. "No one will ever understand the pain that we went through."

Her sentiments were echoed by Ellen Campbell of the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness.

"I'm absolutely appalled. Three years for someone that has done the crimes that he's doneto these children that will carry it for their lives," she said."I think all of Canada must be outraged right now."

Police said they investigated Bedford's activities from September 2005 to April 2006 an investigation that involved the Ontario Provincial Police, RCMP, Kingston Police Service and Kent police in the U.K.

Two teenagers in Edmonton were credited at a news conference in July 2006 for helping police break open the case.