EDMONTON (CANADA)
Edmonton Journal [Edmonton AB, Canada]
November 15, 2025
By Jonny Wakefield
The offender is identified by his initials, EGM, to protect the identity of the victim, who is related by marriage
Warning: this story contains details some readers may find disturbing.
An Edmonton man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing a teenage girl after a judge found he used a position of religious authority to groom and exploit the victim.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Michael Kraus on Wednesday sentenced the 56-year-old for his years-long sexual relationship with the victim, who is 25 years his junior. The offender is identified by his initials, EGM, to protect the identity of the victim, who is related by marriage.
Kraus said EGM’s “exploitation of religious indoctrination” was a “particularly aggravating” factor that merited a significant prison sentence.
“The offender was in a position of trust vis-a-vis the victim because he was her step-uncle and also because he had a position of religious authority over the victim,” Kraus wrote. “He told her it was God’s will that they be together and their sexual relationship was meant to be and the right thing to do.”
Performed victim’s baptism
EGM sexually abused the victim between 2008 and 2012. The two were part of a blended family, and the victim saw him as a “father figure or big brother.” They began talking about sex when she was 13. EGM first touched her sexually just before her 15th birthday.
The victim began attending church with the accused when she was around 14. The court decision does not specify which church they attended or whether EGM had a formal leadership role there, but Kraus notes EGM performed the victim’s baptism, was close with church leaders and was involved in “youth conversions.” The accused gifted her a purity ring just before her 15th birthday.
The two eventually began meeting regularly for sex at the accused’s trailer and later his townhome. The victim acknowledged she was a willing participant who had a “crush” on EGM, but said they had sex both before and after she was 16, Alberta’s age of consent.
The victim told her parents about the abuse in 2012 and reported EGM to police in 2020. At the time of sentencing, EGM was on AISH and living with his mother, having been laid off from a truck driving job. At the time he was molesting the victim, he was on probation following a 2007 criminal harassment conviction.
No mitigating factors
The Crown argued the victim was unable to legally consent to any of the sexual activity because EGM abused a position of trust over her.
EGM claimed none of the sex occurred until after the victim was 16, and denied he was in a position of trust.
Kraus did not believe EGM, finding he molested the victim before and after she turned 16, all while exploiting a power imbalance. He convicted EGM of sexual interference, sexual assault and invitation to sexual touching after a trial last fall.
“The accused groomed the complainant from the time she was 14 years old until their sexual relationship ended,” Kraus said.
“He brought the victim into the church and baptized her. He attended church several times a week with the victim and took her to Bible studies. He talked to the victim regularly about God, faith, and how to behave that was consistent with God’s will. He used that faith and religion to manipulate the victim.”
The familial relationship, age gap and the victim’s tumultuous home life also put EGM in a position of trust, Kraus found.
Kraus concluded the victim was more credible than EGM in part because she was candid about things that “did not put her in the best light,” including “that she was a willing participant in the sexual activity with the accused.”
Her testimony was also backed up by another teen who engaged in sexual activity with the victim and the accused, as well as by three other witnesses who saw EGM being “touchy/feely” with the victim in public before her 16th birthday.
Kraus settled on an eight-year sentence, between the Crown’s recommended 10 years and the defence’s seven years. EGM is also required to register as a sex offender for 20 years and is banned from contact with children under 16 for five years post-release.
The victim, now a mother, told court the abuse ruined her childhood and her relationship with her family. “She felt isolated, vulnerable, manipulated and unsafe,” Kraus summarized. “Even now as a married adult with children, she experiences anxiety and fear.”
The victim’s sister also described living with the trauma of her sibling’s abuse.
“(Her) relationship with God was negatively impacted when she found out the offender, a seemingly God-fearing man, manipulated religion to exploit a child,” Kraus wrote.
The judge found no evidence EGM feels any remorse for his actions, and said there are no mitigating factors warranting a lesser sentence. He has no time in pretrial custody.
© 2025 Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.