CBC News (Canada)
A women's rights advocate is outraged that a Burnaby, B.C., man who pleaded guilty to sex tourism charges has been released from custody pending sentencing.
Kenneth Klassen pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court May 21 to having sex with more than a dozen girls under the age of 14 in Cambodia and Colombia between 1998 and 2002.
"With all due respect to the defence attorney, it just seems like a joke," said Holly Dignard, of Caleb's Hope, an organization that works with female victims of sexual assault in developing countries.
Crown prosecutors and Klassen's lawyer discussed on Thursday the possibility of the convicted man wearing an electronic monitoring device while he remains out on bail, but the decision was deferred.
"If he was a serial murderer, I highly doubt they'd be releasing him with something around his ankle to make sure he doesn't go kill someone," Dignard said.
Under surveillance
The RCMP said that Klassen, 59, is under surveillance, and the Crown prosecutor in the case said the man had been told that police were watching him.
"He is aware of being followed," Brendan McCabe told the court.
As part of his bail conditions, Klassen had to surrender his passport to authorities, cannot be in the presence of children without permission, has to remain in B.C. and cannot be away from his residence for more than 24 hours.
Dignard said those conditions were insufficient. She has started an online petition urging the court to revoke Klassen's bail and "sentence this man to the full extent of the law."
"I find it goes back to the core issue of rape and violence against women. People don't take it seriously enough," she said.
Klassen also pleaded guilty to importing child pornography.
Arguments on Klassen's bail conditions resume on Tuesday. No date has been set for sentencing.
Kenneth Klassen pleaded guilty in B.C. Supreme Court May 21 to having sex with more than a dozen girls under the age of 14 in Cambodia and Colombia between 1998 and 2002.
"With all due respect to the defence attorney, it just seems like a joke," said Holly Dignard, of Caleb's Hope, an organization that works with female victims of sexual assault in developing countries.
Crown prosecutors and Klassen's lawyer discussed on Thursday the possibility of the convicted man wearing an electronic monitoring device while he remains out on bail, but the decision was deferred.
"If he was a serial murderer, I highly doubt they'd be releasing him with something around his ankle to make sure he doesn't go kill someone," Dignard said.
Under surveillance
The RCMP said that Klassen, 59, is under surveillance, and the Crown prosecutor in the case said the man had been told that police were watching him.
"He is aware of being followed," Brendan McCabe told the court.
As part of his bail conditions, Klassen had to surrender his passport to authorities, cannot be in the presence of children without permission, has to remain in B.C. and cannot be away from his residence for more than 24 hours.
Dignard said those conditions were insufficient. She has started an online petition urging the court to revoke Klassen's bail and "sentence this man to the full extent of the law."
"I find it goes back to the core issue of rape and violence against women. People don't take it seriously enough," she said.
Klassen also pleaded guilty to importing child pornography.
Arguments on Klassen's bail conditions resume on Tuesday. No date has been set for sentencing.
No comments:
Post a Comment