Man admits streaming sex abuse of children
A Saskatoon man has pleaded guilty to 40 child pornography charges related to live streaming the sexual abuse of children in Romania and the Philippines, and then sharing the images with others.
Philip Michael Chicoine, 27, entered guilty pleas Friday to 14 counts of distributing child porn, five counts of arranging to commit a sexual offence against a person under 18, seven counts of luring a person under 18, five counts of making sexually explicit material available to a person under 18 and six counts of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
He also pleaded guilty to possessing, accessing and making child porn. The Crown indicated it expects to withdraw 23 of the 63 charges against him.
The facts of the case were not read out in Saskatoon provincial court, but police have said Chicoine offered women in Romania and the Philippines money to show him live streamed and previously recorded videos of child pornography.
The offences happened between 2011 and 2017, according to the RCMP Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit. Police discovered evidence of the live streaming during a search of Chicoine’s home after he uploaded child porn to a social media account.
According to the ICE unit, three Romanian women have been sentenced in connection to the case and the child victims are now safe. However, police are still looking for victims in the Philippines as they pursue suspects in that country.
Chicoine’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 19.