Burnaby man receives 3.5 years in jail for cross-Canada sextortion

A Burnaby man who pleaded guilty to the online sextortion of multiple teenage victims across Canada was sentenced to just under three and a half years in jail on Oct. 14, his 22nd birthday.

In acceding to a joint sentencing submission from Crown and defence counsel, B.C. provincial court judge Jennifer Oulton said the online communications Anwer Jelassi had with the teen girls he demanded money from after obtaining sexually explicit photos of them were “insulting, demeaning and hostile.”

Jelassi pleaded guilty last December to extorting eight victims between Oct. 14 and Nov. 8, 2022, extorting a ninth victim from Dec. 22 to 25, 2023, secretly recording sexual activity(voyeurism) on Dec. 22, 2023, distributing child pornography from Oct. 17 to 30, 2022, and publishing intimate images without consent from Oct. 14, 2022 to Jan. 23, 2023.

Jelassi also admitted to breaching an undertaking on Dec. 22, 2023 by using a device to communicate with someone under 18 contrary to his release conditions.

At a sentencing hearing Weds. in Vancouver provincial court, Crown prosecutor Margaret Mackie said Jelassi was 18 when the offences began in October 2022.

Court heard several teen girls in Ontario and Quebec reported they were being extorted online after sharing sexually explicit images with someone they met on various social media platforms.

Jelassi, Crown counsel said, then demanded up to $200 and threatened to send the photos to their friends, followers or schools if they didn’t pay.

In an Agreed Statement of Facts, Mackie detailed online messages between the victims and Jelassi.

“I’m about to ruin your life until all your family sees you nude,” Jelassi wrote in an exchange with a 17-year-old Ontario victim, who said she didn’t have the money to pay him.

Jelassi, court heard, shared seven intimate images of the teen with her friends on Instagram while nude photos of her were later sent to a porn website.

Another 17-year-old victim from Ontario received a message telling her to send $200 in 24 hours or her images would be sent to her followers and school.

“I swear I’m messing up your life and this won’t be the only time,” Jelassi wrote. “You’re not graduating this year…no university will accept a ho.”

Several victim impact statements were submitted at the hearing and read in court by Crown counsel.

“I was in fear every day,” wrote a 15-year-old victim who transferred $100 to Jelassi, who she said put her address, name and phone number online.

“I was afraid to go out or to go to school for fear someone had seen my photos,” wrote a 16-year-old in Quebec who said she now has trouble trusting people. “This crime disgusts me and wounds me deeply.”

A cross-country investigation led by Burnaby RCMP’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Unit identified Jelassi as the suspect.

In January 2023, Jelassi was arrested and released on an undertaking, following the execution of a search warrant at his family’s home in Burnaby, where police seized a phone, laptop, and USB.

Court heard Jelassi was arrested again in Sept. 2023 and released ahead of a May 2024 court date.

In March 2024, Mackie said he was arrested a third time and charged with two breaches before being released on an order with conditions.

When Jelassi was charged with 23 offences in July 2024, RCMP said he was subject to several court-ordered conditions – including not contacting anyone under age 16, and not accessing TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Bumble, and Tinder.

The judge said the persistence of Jelassi’s criminal behaviour – even after three arrests and being bound by police undertakings – was an aggravating factor, along with the number of victims and their age – eight were under 18.

In two cases, Oulton noted Jelassi pretended to be a concerned parent and emailed the victims’ schools – falsely alleging the teen girls had tried to send intimate photos to the parent’s “child” – and then called for the victims to be expelled.

Court heard nude images were emailed to the school a 15-year-old Quebec victim attended after she couldn’t meet the demand for $50-200, and Jelassi, posing as a mother, contacted the school with fake allegations the girl had sent the nude images around.

Prosecutors said Jelassi told that victim she would “never be free” unless his demands were met.

Oulton said Jelassi’s guilty pleas, his lack of a criminal record and his young age were mitigating factors.

Defence counsel said Jelassi experienced culture shock after arriving in Canada from Tunisia and settling permanently in Vancouver at the age of 15.

Guillaume Garih said his client delved into social media and dating websites and it became an addiction.

Garih said Jelassi, who declined to address the court, has a great deal of remorse and recognizes the victims did not deserve what happened to them.

Jelassi has been ordered to remain on the sex offender registry for 20 years, or until he’s 42, and the judge said she expects he will complete sex offender treatment in prison.

Oulton also agreed to a forfeiture order for a seized laptop and two cell phones, which the Crown said contained child pornography and child sexual images.