Kenneth Klassen

Kenneth Klassen
Born 1951 (age 6364)
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Occupation Art dealer
Known for Videotaping himself sexually abusing children
Criminal penalty
11 years' imprisonment
Criminal status In prison
Conviction(s) Child pornography
Child sex tourism

Kenneth Klassen (born 1951) is an art dealer from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.[1]

Starting at the age of 27 or 28, Klassen began sexually abusing children, and continued doing so for more than 25 years.[2] He sexually abused 14 children as a sex tourist in Cambodia and Colombia between December 1998 and March 2002,[3] and videotaped himself while doing so.[4] The victims were all less than 14 years old,[5] and ranged to as young as 8 years old.[6]

In 2010 he was convicted of having engaged in child sex tourism and having broken Canada's child pornography laws.[7] Klassen was sentenced to 11 years in prison, which was, at the time, the harshest sentence anyone had ever received for breaking Canada's law against sex tourism.[8] This law came into force 13 years before Klassen's conviction, and only two other people had convicted under that law in that time.[9]

An article about Klassen's sex crimes written by journalist Daphne Bramham for The Vancouver Sun was nominated for the Beyond Borders media award for exceptional coverage of issues related child sexual exploitation.[10]

References

  1. "Sex tourism law upheld". The Vancouver Sun. December 24, 2008. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  2. "Nobody should have to see this stuff". The Vancouver Sun. July 23, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  3. "B.C. man pleads guilty to 14 sex tourism charges involving underage girls". Truro Daily News. May 21, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  4. "'Sex tourist' Kenneth Klassen sentenced to 11 years". The Globe and Mail. July 28, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  5. "Bail for sex tourist angers advocate". CBC News. May 27, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  6. Tamsyn Burgmann (December 4, 2013). "Sex tourism still thrives in Asia, while sex offender appears in B.C. court". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  7. "B.C. man gets 11 years for child sex tourism". CBC News. July 28, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  8. "Canadian man gets 11 years for sex tourism charges". The Seattle Times. July 28, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  9. Ginny Gareau (July 30, 2010). "Sex tourism laws aren't adequate". Times Colonist. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  10. "Bramham nominated for print media award". The Vancouver Sun. September 30, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2013.