A merciless Montreal hairdresser who “sextorted” American children to satisfy his pedophilic needs has been sentenced to four years in prison despite hoping for half the sentence because he believed the blame should be placed on his alcoholism .
“He exploited the vulnerability of two young girls to degrade, humiliate and threaten them. People who plan to use the Internet in this way to sexually exploit children must understand that they will suffer the wrath of the courts,” recalled Judge Salvatore Mascia this Thursday at the Montreal courthouse.
Mitchel Sendel, a 33-year-old hairdresser, was hoping for mercy from the judge even though he showed none when he attacked children ages 11 and 12 in 2019. At that time, he had targeted a young girl by convincing her to send him a video of herself naked.
Threats followed to have more and more, otherwise he would send the pictures to all his loved ones and also publish them on social networks and even on porn sites.
“In these cases, the victim obeys to avoid shame and humiliation,” the judge described. There is hope that the blackmailer will be satisfied and stop. However, the latter is not the case and continues to demand more. »
The child desperately begged Sendel to stop. She even threatened to kill herself if he continued. But to the pedophile she was just a “sex object”.
“He suggested that the victim was exaggerating when she said she wanted to die,” the judge noted, based on reports submitted to the court.
Sendel then lured a friend of the victim, but his plan ended when authorities tracked him to Montreal. During a search of his home, 319 files containing child pornography were found. In several videos you can see the defendant chatting with minors via webcam and sometimes asking them to make sexual gestures.
The pedophile ultimately pleaded guilty to enticement, possession and production of child pornography.
However, according to him, he deserved less than two years in prison. Because in his opinion the blame should be attributed to his drug and alcohol consumption at the time. Until recently, he had shown little regret and even suggested that all this “sextortion” had happened “automatically”, so much so that he had even considered denying his guilt.
However, this argument was doomed to fail, the judge noted, emphasizing the importance of child protection.
“Victims of sextortion have to fight against constant humiliation,” the judge reminded. Worse still: the fear that the photos will be distributed. It’s disturbing that the images remain online forever. A victim can be a victim for a lifetime.”
The judge therefore leaned on the Crown’s Me Camille Boucher, who asked for slightly more than the four years imposed.
And once he is released from prison, Sendel will be banned from many places where children hang out for 10 years. He will also be placed on the sex offenders register until his death.
“It is a harsh sentence, but fair,” the judge concluded.