Kenneth Klassen (born 1951) is a Canadian convicted

child sex offender Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

from

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Starting at the age of 27 or 28, Klassen began sexually abusing children and continued doing so for more than 25 years. He sexually abused fourteen children as a

sex tourist Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships, in exchange providing money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly oper ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

between December 1998 and March 2002 and videotaped himself while doing so. The victims were all less than 14 years old, and they ranged in age to as young as 8 years old. In 2010, he was convicted of having engaged in

child sex tourism Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of ''child'' in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "eve ...

and having broken Canada's child pornography laws. Klassen was sentenced to eleven years in prison, which was, at the time, the harshest sentence anyone had ever received for breaking Canada's law against sex tourism. The law

came into force In law, coming into force or entry into force (also called commencement) is the process by which legislation, regulations, treaties and other legal instruments come to have legal force and effect. The term is closely related to the date of this ...

thirteen years before Klassen's conviction, and only two other people had been convicted under that law in that time. An article about Klassen's

sex crimes Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...

, written by

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

Daphne Bramham for ''

The Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', was nominated for the

Beyond Borders Beyond Borders may refer to: * '' 1971: Beyond Borders'', a 2017 Indian Malayalam-language war film * ''Beyond Borders'' (film), a 2003 American romantic-drama film about aid workers * '' Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders'', an American police pr ...

media award for exceptional coverage of issues related child sexual exploitation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Klassen, Kenneth Living people 1951 births Canadian art dealers Canadian people convicted of child pornography offenses Canadian people convicted of child sexual abuse Child prostitution People from Burnaby Businesspeople from British Columbia Prisoners and detainees of Canada Canadian prisoners and detainees