Former Sherwood Park taekwondo teacher sentenced to 27 months for little one luring

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Printed Jun 12, 2023  •  2 minute learn

Courtroom of King’s Bench Justice Wayne Renke referred to Michael Chung’s actions as “totally volitional,” at a sentencing listening to on Monday, June 12, 2023. Photograph by David Bloom /Postmedia

A former Sherwood Park taekwondo teacher has been sentenced to 27 months in jail for little one luring.

Michael Chung pleaded responsible to little one luring and making sexually specific materials out there to a baby after he made repeated makes an attempt to get a teenage sufferer to interact in dialog and video calls between June and November 2019. At instances, Chung pretended to be her sister, whom he’s now married to, and repeatedly pressured the sufferer to indicate him her physique.

The sufferer and her sister’s identities are protected beneath a publication ban.

Greater than 1,300 messages have been despatched over a five-month interval. At one level, the sufferer answered a video name from Chung following his repeated makes an attempt to interact along with her through which he uncovered his penis and started to masturbate in entrance of her.

Chung claimed to have been utilizing cocaine or ingesting alcohol when he despatched the communications.

Courtroom of King’s Bench Justice Wayne Renke referred to Chung’s actions as “totally volitional.”

“Mr. Chung knew who he was speaking to, knew how outdated she was, used digital gadgets to ship many messages to her, despatched graphic sexual materials to her, pretended to be the complainant’s sister and, said within the agreed assertion of details, directed (the sister) to help him throughout a interval of months,” Renke stated.

“There was nothing impulsive, spontaneous or opportunistic in his conduct, nothing spur of the second, nothing within the nature of a momentary error or slip, nothing within the nature of an remoted error of judgment. Mr. Chung’s conduct was deliberate and deliberate and nonetheless so as a result of the plan was not elaborate or efficient.”

Renke described the messages despatched as “incessant, wheedling, cajoling, and nattering.”

Chung first met the sufferer when she was seven years outdated when he was her taekwondo teacher in Sherwood Park. He started a relationship along with her sister when the sister was 15 and he was round 30, inflicting the sufferer’s sister to change into estranged from the household for 4 years.

The sufferer’s sister first reached out to her sister, asking her to ship her photographs of her physique and that it could “construct belief.”

Chung admitted he directed the actions of the sister and used her relationship to realize entry to the sufferer.

Renke stated whereas the offences didn’t happen when Chung was the sufferer’s teacher, he was nonetheless ready of belief and maintained some authority.

Crown prosecutor Carolyn Ayre had requested for a complete of 4 years in jail. Defence lawyer Danielle Boisvert requested for a two-year conditional sentence order the place Chung can be beneath home arrest adopted by three years probation.

Throughout sentencing, Renke stayed the cost of constructing sexually specific materials out there to a baby.

“I think about the transmission of the sexual materials to be an aggravating issue for the luring offence,” Renke stated. “The transmission of sexual materials has been addressed in sentencing for the luring offence and shouldn’t be punished twice.”

Talking to Chung, Renke stated he accepts he’s remorseful.

“I can solely hope as you’ve informed us … you’re now persevering with on a path you’ve began your self to rehabilitate your self to getting again on the fitting approach.”

ajunker@postmedia.com

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