A man caught in a citizen-led child-luring sting operation in Nanaimo has been spared jail time by a provincial court judge.
Parksville’s Cory John Lloyd, 42, previously pleaded guilty to a charge of arranging and agreeing on a sexual offence against a child, originating from a 2019 incident in which he was the subject of an undercover operation with the Justin Payne YouTube channel, which aims to expose sexual predators.
Leanne Mascolo, Crown counsel, sought a six-month prison sentence, while Babak Zargarian, defence counsel, sought an 18-24-month conditional sentence. Judge Brian Harvey sentenced Lloyd to an 18-month conditional sentence with 18 months’ probation on Wednesday, July 27, in provincial court in Nanaimo.
According to an agreed statement of facts, Lloyd had made initial contact with a supposed 13-14-year-old in the fall of 2018 via the Grindr app and was caught on camera in early 2019 at Woodgrove Centre. He was subsequently arrested by police in Parksville.
Evidence gathered by Payne showed numerous conversations stating Lloyd wanted to engage in sexual activity with the person with whom he was communicating. The judge did state that Lloyd was tipped off by another individual at one point that he was talking to an adult, but continued to engage in conversation.
In rendering his decision, Harvey took into consideration Lloyd’s situation. He was adopted and subjected to verbal and physical abuse growing up. He currently resides with his husband and an elderly friend and jail time would affect his ability to provide financial support for the household, the judge said.
Psychiatric reports described Lloyd as being a low to moderate risk to re-offend.
Lloyd will be under house arrest for the first nine months of the order, although his supervisor can grant permission for him to go to work. The final nine months will see Lloyd subject to a curfew. He will not be allowed to delete his internet history nor use any applications that automatically delete messages, videos or photos.
He will also be prohibited from holding any social media accounts or being in chatrooms or contact with anyone under 16 years old and will be registered on the National Sexual Offender Registry for 20 years.
Lloyd declined an opportunity to address the court. His lawyer made an application to prohibit publication of his client’s name, citing that he had suffered significant, irreparable damage to his employment opportunities. He was fired from a previous job as a cook after the video came to light. The judge denied the request.
reporter@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
