B.C. man sentenced for possessing, making child sexual abuse material

A man typing on a backlit computer keyboard. (Bloomberg Creative Photos/Bloomberg Creative)

Warning: This story contains disturbing details

A B.C. man with a history of convictions for sex crimes against minors has been sentenced to five years in prison for possessing and making child sexual abuse material, according to a recent court decision.

Kostantinos Panagiotis Tsekouras pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography, one count of making child pornography and one count of making sexually explicit material available to a minor earlier this year, and the sentencing decision was published last month.

The charges date back to 2022 when the Abbotsford Police Department, which had been contacted by the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre in Ottawa acting on a tip from U.S. authorities, identified Tsekouras as a suspect, searched his residence, and seized his devices.

Judge Paul Sandhu, in his reasons for sentencing, summarized what the investigation into Tsekouras uncovered.

“Mr. Tsekouras did not simply possess (child sexual abuse and exploitation material). He recorded and retained files of his offending with child victims and made (child sexual abuse and exploitation material) available to children by showing them sexual images over online chats,” the judge wrote.

“Mr. Tsekouras’ collection of (child sexual abuse and exploitation material) was large, in excess of 3,000 images and 74 videos. The child victims involved in Mr. Tsekouras’ sexual offending were from six to 14 years in age.”

Tsekouras contacted the victims through an online chat service, and obscured his identity by wearing dark glasses, a baseball hat and facemask, the court heard. The screen recordings of the chats, of which there were dozens, showed Tsekouras engaging in what the judge described as “extremely deliberate, manipulative” behaviour in order to coerce the children into complying with his demands.

“His actions will have a devastating and long-term impact on his victims,” the judge wrote.

Tsekouras’ lawyer argued for a 20-month sentence, to be served in the community. In support of this position, the defence urged the court to consider Tsekouras’ “difficult childhood and cognitive difficulties,” his social isolation, and an inability to form relationships.

The judge found that while these things were somewhat mitigating, they did not constitute an “exceptional circumstance” that would justify imposing a conditional sentence.

“Mr. Tsekouras engaged in conduct that belied his appreciation and awareness of the wrongfulness of his actions. Further, his developmental delays and Grade 6 education did not prevent him from using technology to make (child sexual abuse and exploitation material) and make sexually explicit material available to innocent children,” the decision said.

“He disguised his appearance to avoid recognition and capture. He deceived the children and attempted to mislead authorities who may see this material by stating he was in America. He appreciated that he represented himself as a father of a child, just like his victims, they may trust him and do what he wished. When they did not, Mr. Tsekouras threatened his child victims with consequences if they did not do as he demanded.”

Tsekouras’ criminal record was also considered aggravating and supported the imposition of a federal sentence.

In 2000, Tsekouras was convicted of sexual interference. Ten years later, he was convicted of exposing his genitals to someone under 16 and the following year he was convicted of voyeurism.

His record also included breaches of probation and a 2014 conviction for “trespassing at night” which stemmed from when Tsekouras was accused of “repeatedly attending a home where young children lived, whereupon he watched them on a number of occasions until police were involved,” the decision said.

While none of the victims addressed the court, the judge referred to one of the pieces of evidence to illustrate the impact of Tsekouras’ crimes.

“I found the words of a 10-year-old victim on one of the videos to poignantly summarize the gravity of Mr. Tsekouras’ offending and his moral blameworthiness. After over 28 minutes of abuse, the child expressed to Mr. Tsekouras that he made her sick,” Sandhu wrote.

“In response to Mr. Tsekouras’ question, ‘How did it feel?’ the child victim responded with one word, ‘Horrifying.’”

In addition to the prison term, Tsekouras will have to register as a sex offender for life, and will be banned from being at parks, pools, schools and other places where those under 16 are present or likely to be present or 10 years.