Editor’s note: The following story contains details of sexual abuse that could be distressing to some readers.
A woman who sexually abused a teenage girl in Abbotsford and then posted videos of the abuse on a porn website has been sentenced to six years in jail.
Siobhan Kirby, 36, was sentenced Wednesday (April 29) in Abbotsford provincial court after previously pleading guilty to three charges – making child sex abuse material, sexual exploitation and arranging a sexual offence against a child.
Ten other charges – including sexual assault and trafficking in a person under 18 – were stayed.
Kirby, who appeared in court via video, was given 425 days’ credit for time served, leaving her with almost another five years in prison.
Judge Daniel Loucks said the victim – whose identity is protected under a publication ban – was a “particularly vulnerable young person” who trusted Kirby.
He said the offences began in December 2022, when Kirby “encouraged and coerced” the teen to engage in sexual activity with her.
“There were numerous incidents of sexual abuse that spanned nearly a year. Many of the sexual acts were recorded on video,” Loucks said.
He said many of the videos were posted to a porn website, where they were viewed “hundreds of thousands of times.”
Loucks said, although the website later removed all the footage, “the unfortunate, tragic reality is that the internet is an eternal place, and those videos, to a certain extent, are still out there.”
The judge said on one occasion, Kirby arranged for the victim to meet with a drug dealer and “engage in sexual activity” in exchange for Kirby receiving drugs.
Prior to sentencing, the victim read a statement in court, detailing the impact the abuse has had on her.
“I was a child who looked up to the offender as a trusted adult role model … That trust was violated in a way that has had serious and lasting consequences for me,” she said.
She said she experiences “distressing and disturbing, intrusive thoughts” on a daily basis of what happened to her.
She said she often feels unsafe, even in her own home; struggles with “intense, persistent feelings of shame”; experiences extreme social anxiety; and has difficulty trusting others.
“My perception of the world has changed … The effects of these offences are long-term and ongoing,” she said.
The victim’s mother also spoke, saying her daughter, who is in counselling, is experiencing complex post-traumatic stress, including flashbacks, nightmares and difficulty sleeping.
“The betrayal of trust and the realization that the harm was deliberate has had a lasting impact on her ability to trust others as a result of being abused by someone she trusted. My daughter’s sense of safety and security has been taken from her,” the mom said.
Kirby’s lawyer, Christopher Terepocki, said Kirby worked in “various occupations related to the sex industry” from around 2019 to 2023, which included working as an escort and creating an account on a porn website.
He said she began using methamphetamines daily in 2022 and was “not thinking clearly, not in a right frame of mind, making poor decisions.”
Terepocki said Kirby describes the period of her criminal offences and drug use as “a darkness that she can’t even clearly recollect what was going on.”
He said she plans to take programming while in prison “to get the assistance she needs to be rehabilitated.”
“I can certainly say that it’s been Miss Kirby’s desire to take responsibility for her actions,” he said.
Terepocki said Kirby is open to writing a letter of apology to the victim, but she declined to speak in court.
Terepocki and Crown lawyer Kevin Gillespie submitted a joint recommendation that Kirby serve six years.
Judge Daniel Loucks agreed with the sentence, saying a joint submission should “be given deference” and only rejected if “the proposed sentence is so unhinged that it would give the appearance that the criminal justice system is breaking down.”
He said the sentence falls within the range of two to 10 years for similar cases presented by the lawyers.
Kirby’s sentence also includes her to be registered for 20 years under the Sex Offender Information Registration Act.
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