Benjamin Martin Moore faces 10 years in prison, according to a lawyer with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Published Dec 27, 2023 • Last updated 9 hours ago • 3 minute read
Benjamin Martin Moore Photo by REGINA POLICE SERVICE /Supplied photo
A sex offender who evaded Saskatchewan authorities and jumped the U.S. border with two children has pleaded guilty in that country to a charge of possessing child pornography.
Benjamin Martin Moore, 52, was scheduled to have a change of plea hearing in a South Dakota court in mid-December.
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As reported by The Canadian Press, Moore entered a plea agreement and was expected to plead guilty at the hearing.
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A U.S. prosecutor confirmed to the Leader-Post that Moore proceeded as anticipated and has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.
The man, who was described in Parole Board of Canada documents as a “predatory sexual offender” with a criminal past dating back decades, now “faces 10 years in prison,” according to Sarah B. Collins, a lawyer who works to enforce federal law in the United States, much like a federal Crown prosecutor would in Canada.
However, a sentence has not yet been imposed on Moore, and a hearing to that end has been scheduled in February, Collins relayed through an email to the Leader-Post.
The plea was to one of two charges brought against Moore in the United States after he was located and arrested by authorities in that country in the summer of 2022. The other charge was for transporting illegal aliens.
The children Moore entered the U.S. with were the subject of an Amber Alert in August of that year.
According to the RCMP, the Ministry of Social Services had been conducting an investigation into “allegations” surrounding Moore, but before he could be questioned, he fled from a small southwestern Saskatchewan town with the woman he’d been living with and her children.
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A United States court document called a “Factual Basis Statement” indicates Moore and the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) agree that when the Amber Alert was issued, Canadian authorities were planning to “remove the two minor children from the home.”
However, Moore initially lied when contacted, saying he and the others were in Ontario, according to the document, which notes that in reality they’d crossed into Montana by cutting a barbed wire fence and driving south without presenting themselves at a port of entry.
Before Moore was captured and the children were located, RCMP Chief Supt. Tyler Bates told reporters “we feel those children are in grave danger.”
Following his arrest, court documents revealed special agents discovered Moore had been working in a campground near Sturgis, South Dakota as a security guard, and when they arrived to arrest him, he was attempting to flee in a vehicle, which the agents had to “pin.”
The same documents allege that Moore later told agents his plan had been to head south, perhaps to Mexico, to “avoid winter weather.”
Moore’s plea agreement states the child pornography charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. It goes on to note that the offence “involved material that portrays sadistic conduct and abuse of an infant or toddler” and “involved at least 150 images but fewer than 300.”
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The plea agreement also signals that, upon sentencing, the USAO intends to ask for the dismissal of the remaining charge against Moore (transporting illegal aliens).
The saga gave rise to charges being brought against Moore in Canada as well, including one for failing to report to a registration centre as required by the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, and another for breaching a weapons prohibition order.
As the investigation was still ongoing on both sides of the border, the RCMP stated Moore would face the Canadian charges upon his return to this country.
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