Judge sentences child pornographer, extortionist to more than 12 years

A Manitoba man who manipulated dozens of teenage girls into sending him intimate images over online chats, then extorted and threatened them into sending even more, will serve 12 1/2 years in prison.

Christian Lebrun, 29, who pleaded guilty to possessing and making child pornography, three counts of luring and one count of extortion in November 2022, was sentenced Wednesday by provincial court Judge Cindy Sholdice.

Lebrun was arrested by Manitoba RCMP internet child exploitation investigators on April 22, 2021, after the Mounties were contacted by the mother of one of his victims in August 2020. He had been victimizing the teens for nearly a year, beginning on April 28, 2020.

Sholdice said RCMP, who searched and analyzed Lebrun’s cell phone, managed to identify just four of his victims, while the identities of another 35 — ranging in age from 13 to 16 — remain unknown.

Investigators found 1,590 child sexual abuse images and videos on Lebrun’s phone — typically selfies depicting teen girls in varying states of undress or, in some, performing sexual acts.

“Most of the children he was communicating with will never know that he was caught and is now facing consequences for his actions,” Sholdice told court.

Lebrun, who was 25 and 26 at the time of the crimes, posed as an attractive teenage boy in his search for gullible teen girls to manipulate on social media platform Snapchat and other online messaging applications, the judge said.

Lebrun would pretend to have contacted the girls by mistake to initiate the conversation before eventually asking for nude images and videos that he would surreptitiously record on his cellphone.

“He would then use the saved images to extort his victims when they refused to send more,” Sholdice said.

He was caught after the mother of one 13-year-old victim called authorities, triggering the RCMP probe.

The 13-year-old had been asked to send nude photos over Snapchat and was offered $1,200 to do it. She had already sent images of herself wearing only a bra, and Lebrun threatened to post them online if she did not send further images.

Lebrun admitted to RCMP that he had multiple fake user names on online platforms and that he communicated with a 13-year-old and provided passwords for his phone, though he downplayed the extent of his crimes, admitting only to twice communicating with minors, Sholdice said.

Some of the communications with victims that RCMP were able to recover showed how “manipulative, deceitful and threatening” Lebrun was to the girls.

Sholdice said Lebrun, who had a good upbringing with both parents, and a typical social life while a teen, began to isolate himself from others and his family as his mental health spiralled in his 20s with panic attacks and strong negative beliefs about himself.

His isolation worsened amid the pandemic, the judge said.

“He spent more and more time in his room in his parents’ basement and more time online, eventually sleeping during the day and staying awake at night,” she said.

He sought gratification online, including through pornography and online dating apps, but was no longer satisfied, and began seeking out girls to victimize online, Sholdice said.

While awaiting trial, Lebrun eventually sought counselling for his mental-health issues and for insight into why he committed the crimes, Sholdice said, and has made progress and expressed shame and remorse.

The judge said he is a good candidate for rehabilitation, though a pre-sentence report deemed him an above-average risk to offend sexually again.

It was not immediately clear, based on Lebrun’s sentencing hearing, where in Manitoba he resided while he was committing the offences, or whether any of the identified victims are from the province or elsewhere.

Upon release, Lebrun must register as a sex offender for 20 years and will be barred from attending any area a child could reasonably be expected to be, including playgrounds, schools and daycares, for 15 years, among other court orders.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca