Man who admitted to kidnapping his children to Mexico to be sentenced July 7

A Winnipeg man who admitted to kidnapping his two children and taking them to Mexico appeared in court Monday for a sentencing hearing.

Kevin Maryk pleaded guilty last Thursday to two counts of abduction. Maryk will be back in court on Monday, July 7 to hear his final sentence.

Maryk often smirked from the prisoners box as the Crown laid out case against him on Monday. Prosecutors said the two children lived behind bars and were exposed to drugs, prostitutes, gangs and corrupt police officers while in Mexico.

Prosecutors asked the judge for five years without contact between Kevin Maryk and his kids, their mom or Maryk's co-accused, Robert Groen and Cody McKay.

Crown attorney Debbie Buors has told the sentencing hearing that Maryk's children didn't attend school and were only taken out at night. She says the home they were staying in had cameras inside and out, thick chains on the outside door, as well as bars on the main door.

She also asked for no double time credit for time already served and not to count the months he spent in Mexico at all.

Though Groen only got one year, crown argues Maryk is the principal in this abduction and deserves a harsher sentence.

Defence lawyer Todd Bourcier asked that Maryk get full enhanced credit for 25 months in custody.

"His (Maryk's) intention has always been to plead guilty and take responsibility," said Bourcier.

The defence said Maryk did not participate in drug trafficking or any criminal activity while in Mexico and denies Maryk has any ties to organized crime. Bourcier also said Maryk acted out of genuine concern that the kids weren't properly cared for by Cablek.

He was concerned she hadn't given up drugs and that the kids might not be safe in the home.

The defence asked for 18 months, meaning time already served, saying that would cover what defence calls a '"fair" sentence.

At one point, the Crown jumped in and asked that Maryk be warned about smirking at Cablek. Defence chatted with Maryk, who said he just needed a drink of water. The defence assured the court Maryk didn't mean to smirk.

Maryk's daughter Abby said her dad brought her to parties where she hung with teens and adults. Both kids tried tequila wine, and Dominic said he fired a gun and talks about a gang.

The Crown read letters Maryk sent while in prison, demanding family members to help him. His messages included instructions to find his kids by spying at schools and in neighbourhoods.

Maryk also said in the letters that he has lots of money to pay family members off and wants to return to his life in Mexico with the kids. He said his nephew, Cody McKay, is still in Mexico dealing drugs.

The children's mother, Emily Cablek, attended the hearing, but left the room when they played her recorded victims impact statement. It outlined her anxiety attacks and the kids' difficulty dealing with routine and catching up after missing four years of school.

Cablek teared up, saying she's "terrified of things happening again." She also said she worries for her kids. "I want them to feel like they're safe where they are."

The Crown dropped the three other charges, including conspiracy to commit kidnapping.

Prosecutors are seeking a five-year prison sentence, while the defence is pushing for a sentence of less than two years. The defence will make their arguments Monday afternoon.

Maryk took his kids Abby and Dominic when they were seven and five years old while on a court-approved visit in 2008. In 2012, one of Maryk's neighbours in Guadalajara, Mexico recognized the children from a Crime Stoppers video that aired in Mexico and tipped off police.

They were later reunited with their mother in Winnipeg.

Another man, Groen, pleaded guilty to helping in the abduction and was sentenced one year in jail. Police are still searching for a third man, McKay, Maryk's nephew.

- With files from The Canadian Press