Participant in Craigslist sexual abuse sentenced to 6 more years

The picture shows two stick people — one with long blond hair, a sad face, surrounded by tear drops; the other is a figure scrawled all in black.

This is the victim impact statement presented in a Hamilton court Monday by a girl, who at age seven was allegedly repeatedly sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend and others. He’s accused of dressing her in lingerie, carrying her to the basement in the middle of the night in their Hamilton home, where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted, the abuse recorded and used to seek more participants on Craigslist.

The drawing “serves to emphasize the loss of innocence of a seven-yearold girl,” Ontario Court Justice Marjoh Agro said at the sentencing hearing for Rui DaSilva.

The photo is sealed and cannot be published.

The 38-year-old Waterloo man admitted to responding to one of those Craigslist advertisements and twice visiting the girl’s home in the middle of the night in 2016.

DaSilva was sentenced to an additional six years and four months in prison after credit for a year and eight months in pretrial custody.

The prosecution had asked for eight to 10 years; the defence five.

DaSilva was also sentenced to a number of conditions, including being on the sex offender registry for life, not being near children under 16 for 15 years after release and limiting his access to the internet.

In a pre-sentence report referenced in court, DaSilva admits to have a sex addiction, but denies being sexually attracted to children, claiming to have been “caught up in” an experience that went further than he expected.

But Agro noted the communication online and the assaults happened over several months and it was clear he was seeking an incest scenario. When police searched his home, they found 82 unrelated child pornography images, including three videos.

DaSilva’s “prospect for rehabilitation is uncertain ... his likelihood of reoffending unknown,” Agro said.

DaSilva pleaded guilty in May to two counts of sexual interference and two counts of making child pornography, but the sentencing was delayed after the previous judge became sick and died.

The girl’s aunt, at every court date to advocate for her niece, once again wept as she heard the anguishing details of the case.

She was supported by members of the Toronto Chapter of Guardians of the Children, a biker group dedicated to fighting child abuse.

Outside court, the group’s sergeantat-arms, who called herself Little Dean, said the sentence wasn’t enough.

She pointed to the logo on the back of their motorcycle jackets, which features unbalanced scales of justice, saying the flawed system needs a greater focus on breaking the cycle of abuse.

She said it was important to show victims and their families that they are not alone.

This case is part of Project Links, a six-month police investigation that began after the girl told her biological father what happened.

He reported the abuse to the Catholic Children’s Aid Society, which called police.

A 49-year-old woman, Sonya Lucas, pleaded guilty in June to taking part in the abuse when she travelled with DaSilva to Hamilton on April 27, 2016. She’s scheduled to return to court for a sentencing hearing Sept. 7.

The girl’s mother, who can’t be named to protect the victim’s identity, was charged with failing to provide the necessities of life, but had her charge stayed.

The boyfriend, a 34-year-old Hamilton man who can’t be named, either, faces 40 charges still before the courts.

John Gallagher, 50, of Hamilton previously pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and making child pornography charges in relation to the case.

He was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison.