Russell Wolfe made body casts of young Saskatoon sexual assault victim
Police who raided Russell Wolfe's home in Saskatoon in 2014 seized thousands of images of pre-teen boys and girls getting sexually abused – and two body casts made of one of his victims.
It was during the review of the images and videos that investigators made a chilling discovery: the hunting trophy, 1970s tassel lamp and a photo of an elderly couple glimpsed in the background of some of the videos matched the items inside Wolfe's home.
By the time the investigation wrapped, the 58-year-old was charged with sexually assaulting 14 young girls from Saskatoon's King George neighbourhood between 1997 and 2008.
Wolfe pleaded guilty to the assaults last month.
The Crown took the first steps to having him declared a dangerous offender at his sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
Youngest victim was 9
The details of Wolfe's assaults are detailed in a 16-page statement of facts presented at the Court of Queen's Bench.
He came onto police's radar during an international investigation that began in 2013.
Officers raided his home after tracing child pornography downloads to an Internet address that led to a house on Avenue L S across from an elementary school.
Once police realized that Wolfe was actually making child pornography in Saskatoon, they set about trying to identify the victims.
"A booklet of headshots was prepared and shown to various community members, including outreach workers, social services, principals and teachers," prosecutor Lana Morelli wrote in the statement of facts.
"As victims were identified, they were located and interviewed. Each victim was then shown the booklet of headshots, which led to the identification of further victims."
Of the 14 victims, two remain unidentified and two have died since the abuse.
The youngest girl that Wolfe sexually assaulted on camera was nine years old.
The two body casts were of the same victim. It was never explained why he made them.
Victims recounted how they were lured
Many of the victims, who are now in their twenties, provided statements of how they came to encounter Wolfe.
A predatory pattern emerged from the statements.
"She recalled meeting the accused during the summer of 1997 when she was walking on the street by Optimist Park with her friend. They accepted a ride from the accused and went back to Residence #2, which was a few blocks away, to consume alcohol," said the statement of one victim, who was 13 at the time.
The court heard Wolfe typically tried to get the girls drunk or high and then sexually assaulted them. Most did not know they were being filmed and, when they spotted the camera, would begin crying and beg him to stop.
He did not.
Wolfe also took nude photos of his young victims and made his own collages of the abuse.
Dangerous offender
This morning, the Crown took the first steps to having Wolfe declared a dangerous offender.
Prosecutor Bryce Pashovitz told the court that he was compiling material, including Wolfe's conviction record, court transcripts and psychological reports.
This will be reviewed to decide what material would be sent to a forensic assessor — a psychiatrist or psychologist who evaluates an individual's potential for re-offending.
Wolfe is in custody and will return to court June 8.
