Man jailed more than a year for 'opportunistic' grooming of teen girl

Photo: Castanet Staff

A Shuswap-area man who secretly delivered sex toys to a young relative he was attempting to lure — grooming described by a judge as “exploitive” and “opportunistic” — has been ordered to spend 15 months in prison.

Chris Klix, 29, was sentenced last week in B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops after earlier pleading guilty to one count of invitation to sexual touching.

Court heard Klix has since moved to Manitoba, but he was living during the summer of 2019 in the Malakwa area near Sicamous with his wife and their young family.

In July of 2019, a 13-year-old relative visited Malakwa from out of province to spend a couple of weeks with family in the area. The young teen was staying in a home near Klix’s family and she was spending time with his kids.

The girl told police Klix approached her one day while she was playing with his children and began whispering sexual comments in her ear, which carried over into a text message conversation.

Court heard Klix provided the girl with sexual and relationship advice and later told her he was interested in her. Over text message, he attempted to normalize significant age gaps in intimate relationships and sent the girl a photo of his erect penis.

Klix, who was married with children of his own, eventually asked the teen to be his girlfriend. He later dropped off multiple sex toys for the girl, hiding them in her luggage. They were later discovered by her family.

No sexual contact is alleged to have taken place, but B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Donegan said she did not consider that fact to be mitigating on sentence.

“I find the lack of physical contact immaterial,” she said.

“If there had been any physical contact, there would have been further criminal charges.”

Donegan said Klix “manipulated and preyed” on the young girl, and noted the “profound power imbalance” between adults and children.

“His offence is grave,” she said.

“He repeatedly victimized, over a period of six days, a vulnerable 13-year-old child.”

Donegan sentenced Klix to 15 months in prison, to be followed by a two-year period of probation.

Klix will also be barred for five years from working or volunteering with children, contacting anyone under 16 or using the internet to communicated with children, with exceptions for parenting his own kids.

In addition, Klix was ordered to submit a sample of his DNA to a national criminal database and required to register as a sex offender for 20 years.

Klix had been free on bail, so his sentence began when he was sentenced on Nov. 16.