Final sentencing in Craigslist sex abuse case

A final sentencing was heard in Hamilton Tuesday in the horrific case of a 7-year-old girl who was offered for sex on Craigslist by her stepfather.

The 38-year-old man was sentenced to seven years in jail. He was the best friend of the victim’s stepfather so he can`t be named. He’s the only one of five offenders who did not plead guilty.

With time served this offender will spend another three years in prison.

He admitted to raping the girl only when he learned he was identifiable in a video, but he did not admit to making child pornography. A judge found him guilty though and said he must have been aware of his best friend’s camera next to him during the attack on the child.

During the separate trials, courts heard that for 18 months the stepfather routinely took the child from her bed to abuse her, filmed the abuse and invited others to abuse her through an ad on Craigslist.

The first man convicted in this case was John Gallagher, sentenced in December of 2016, the same year the crimes were discovered. He has already been released on day parole.

Thirty-eight-year-old Rui Da Silva and 48-year-old Sonya Lucas, both from Waterloo, were sentenced to eight and eight-and-a-half years respectively. They responded to a Craigslist ad for the girl.

The girl’s stepfather is serving a 13-year sentence.

The victim is now living elsewhere with her biological father.