Toronto man, 78, pleads guilty to sex crimes in Cuba

James McTurk of Ontario was charged with nine sex tourism offences.

A 78-year-old man has become the first to be charged by Toronto police with violating Canada's seldom-used child sex tourism laws.

Appearing in a Toronto court Friday, James McTurk, pleaded guilty to six different offences, including some against Cuban girls as young as three and four.

The charges included making and distributing child pornography, sexual interference and sex tourism.

Despite being a registered sex offender, McTurk was free to travel abroad and visited Cuba 31 times since 2009. He had previously been charged with possession of child pornography on two occasions.

A statement of facts was read in court Friday detailing pictures of McTurk performing sex acts on girls in Cuba under the age of 10.

McTurk pleaded guilty to six of the 12 charges he faced.

The prosecution has asked for an assessment to see if McTurk could be deemed a dangerous offender, which could put him behind bars for the rest of his life.

The retired postal worker is the sixth-known conviction under Canada’s sex tourism law and the first whose convictions stem from visits to Cuba.

He has been in custody for nearly a year, since last July.

The case will be back in court on August 19.