Crown wants jail term of almost seven years for Kentville man who tried to lure teens for sex
A Kentville man who got off on charges including child luring and obtaining sexual services two years ago because of delays in his proceedings should serve more than six years for similar ones laid just two months after the other charges were stayed, the Crown says.
Bradley Lloyd Clarke, 42, was in Kentville provincial court Wednesday for a sentencing hearing on charges of communicating with a person under the age of 18 for the purpose of obtaining sexual services, luring a child under the age of 18, luring a child under the age of 16, two counts of obtaining or trying to obtain sexual services for consideration, and failing to comply with a condition of an undertaking.
The counts involve two women and two teens, including a mother and daughter.
The investigation into those offences started on Feb. 7, 2022, after RCMP received a report that someone was trying to obtain sexual services from two underage girls online. That was 11 days before the judge in the first case stayed the other charges.
Clarke was arrested on the new charges on May 2 of that year and pleaded guilty four months later.
Crown attorney Alicia Kennedy told the court Thursday that Clarke used Facebook to contact the daughter of a woman he knew and they spoke over a couple of weeks, during which time “he spoke sexually to her, saying that he wanted to have sex with girls, that he wanted to obtain naked pictures of girls, that he wanted to engage in video chats and have sex for money, and asked her if she knew any girls who would have sex for money.”
He also offered the girl alcohol, drugs and money if she would find other girls to have sex with him, which she refused. He also asked her to have phone sex with him, send him sexual photos and offered her $200 if she would have sex with him, which she likewise refused.
The girl was under 16 at the time.
Clarke also had contact with a 17-year-old on Facebook who he found through mutual friends and asked if she was single. When she told him her age and asked how old he was, he lied and said he was 23. She said that age difference was too much for her, and he then offered her $500 to have sex with him, which she refused.
Clarke did have sex with the mother of the first victim on two occasions previously after responding to an online ad she had posted, paying her $600.
He also approached another woman in late 2021 online and offered her money to watch him masturbate online, which she refused.
Kennedy suggested an overall sentence of six years and 10 months in jail, saying that Clarke has been assessed as being at a higher-than-average risk to reoffend in a sexual way and struggles with behavioral control.
Defence lawyer Pavel Boubnov suggested a sentence of about two years and two months.
He said Clarke has substance abuse issues and the offences were related to that addiction. He said that he has been sober since he was jailed in May 2022 after being arrested.
“His battle with drug addiction is far from over,” Boubnov said, but added that Clarke has been receiving counselling while in custody.
Boubnov said Clarke was also homeless and jobless at the time of the offences and had mental health issues. The defence lawyer pointed out that after being refused by the teens, Clarke had no further contact with them.
Judge Ronda van der Hoek will sentence Clarke next month..
In the first investigation, police laid charges on Feb.10, 2020, five weeks after receiving a complaint. They charged Clarke with sexual assault, obtaining sexual services from a person under the age of 18, luring a child, sexual interference, and trafficking in cocaine and methamphetamine. Court documents indicated the complainant was under the age of 16.
