Lengthy prison term for B.C. man who plotted online to abuse British youngsters

LANGLEY, B.C. – The RCMP says it worked with British police to build a case against a man who was sentenced this week to more than eight years in prison on child sex offences in the United Kingdom.

RCMP Insp. Tyler Svendson, who heads the Mounties’ behavioural sciences group, says several other British Columbia agencies were also involved in the investigation of Glenn Schulz and helped ensure a conviction.

The RCMP’s Internet Child Exploitation unit seeks out child predators on various online social media outlets and websites known to be used for child exploitation, Svendson says in a news release.

“As suspect individuals are identified through the employment of these proactive assets, they are subsequently arrested and charged to the fullest extent of the law,” says Svendson.

The RCMP says the investigation began after Schulz contacted a British undercover officer who posed as the father of two young girls. Investigators say Schulz was on a site known for sharing child exploitation material and arranged to meet the undercover officer in order to abuse the fictitious children.

Police in Kent say officers arrested Schulz, 38, at Gatwick Airport shortly after he arrived in the country on May 21.

Police say Schulz pleaded guilty to arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence at an earlier hearing and received an eight-year, eight-month sentence on Monday.