Saskatoon man pleads guilty to grooming daughter's 14-year-old friend, sexually assaulting her and filming it
Warning: this story contains distressing details.
A Saskatoon man who paid a 14-year-old girl before filming himself taking her virginity is going to prison.
"This is one of the most egregious cases that we've had, certainly certainly up there in terms of the seriousness of the offence," prosecutor Andrew Clements said in an interview.
"It's a very disturbing set of facts where a father essentially grooms a child from his daughter's birthday party and goes through very long, detailed, well thought out grooming methods in order to commit the offence."
Jeric Villareal Mendoza, 44, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and child pornography-related charges before Judge Doug Agnew at provincial court on Nov. 20, 2023.
Creating 'Chris Lander'
Court heard that it all began in September 2022 when Mendoza's daughter had a birthday party at their home. Mendoza photographed the 14-year-old's ID and then copied her personal contact and emergency contact information from her notebook.
He then reached out to her through text messaging using the fictitious alias "Chris Lander," saying he was a 30-year-old man from Edmonton.
"He persuaded her to take nude images of herself and email them to him and instructed her to delete everything so there would be no trace left. During the course of these interactions, [the teen] told 'Chris' that she was 14, and that she was a 'cutter,' and showed him her scars," Agnew wrote in his decision.
"Over the course of a month, he convinced her to have sexual intercourse with him."
Agnew wrote that Mendoza rented an Airbnb apartment in Saskatoon on Oct. 26, 2022, and arranged to meet the teen there. He constructed an elaborate series of steps to ensure the teen was not followed, and could not identify him as her friend's father.
"Once at the apartment, still without having ever seen the accused, she was instructed to put on a set of goggles left there, which completely obstructed her vision. He gave her $1,500.00. [The teen's] understanding was that the money was specifically for allowing the accused to 'take' her virginity and to record the act, which he did," Agnew wrote.
They stayed in contact and Mendoza tried to get the teen to involve another young woman in a threesome in December. The plan fell apart when a counsellor at her school became aware of what was happening and contacted the victim's mother, who went to police.
Defence tries to paint it as 'unique relationship'
In his decision, Agnew took issue with how Mendoza's lawyer characterized what had happened.
"Defence also argues that the accused's actions do not constitute a 'major sexual assault involving a child' because it was part of 'a unique relationship that unfolded over time,'" he wrote.
"With the greatest of respect, defence misunderstands the term 'major sexual assault' … To make my view absolutely clear, whatever Mr. Mendoza may have thought he was doing, what was actually going on was that he was grooming a vulnerable young woman over the course of about a month in order to use her for his own sexual pleasure."
Agnew sentenced Mendoza to nine years in prison.
Mendoza must also supply a DNA sample, register as a convicted sex offender and forfeit his camera gear, computer equipment and cellphone.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through the Ending Violence Association of Canada database and specifically for human trafficking through the federal government. If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
