18 years sought for teacher

The Crown is seeking an 18-year sentence for a former Calgary teacher who pleaded guilty to 17 sex-related charges involving girls.

Christian Allen Sarile was arrested in December 2017 on 49 charges including sexual assault, sexual interference, accessing child pornography, distributing child pornography, luring and extortion.

All of the victims were between the ages of 12 and 17 and are from the Calgary area.

Sarile's lawyers are seeking a jail term of 12 to 14 years.

Sentencing in the case is scheduled for May 31.

Police say Sarile, who is 29, used social media sites to pose as a teenager asking to meet girls.

Investigators say he would ask the girls to chat through various social media platforms and then offer them cash or items in exchange for sex or compromising photos.

Police were first notified when the family of a 14-year-old girl came forward in December 2016 concerned about their daughter meeting a man in his 20s.

Further investigation discovered a total of 26 victims who all claimed to have had contact with Sarile.

During his sentencing hearing some of his victims said the abuse gave them panic attacks, forced them to miss school and made them turn to drugs.

Two of the victims spoke of their inability to be happy about anything.

"The offender only stopped his activity when he was caught," Crown prosecutor Martha O'Connor said Thursday. "He targeted and sexually exploited children for his own sexual satisfaction."

Yoav Niv, Sarile's lawyer, asked the court to consider his client's guilty plea that spared his victims the need to testify.

Sarile also wrote a letter of apology, saying he was sorry about the pain and loss of trust he caused.

"I accept responsibility and am deeply ashamed of my actions," he wrote in the letter that was read aloud during the hearing.

"I have a problem. I need treatment. I deserve to go to jail."

Sarile has been in custody since his arrest.