A teacher has been found guilty after grooming a boy, 15, for sex using gay dating app Grindr and social media app Snapchat.
Daniel Martin, 66, had been teaching for more than 30 years before being charged in June 2022 with child luring, sexual interference, human trafficking, and sexual assault.
A court in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, heard how the teacher used dating app Grinder, as well as Snapchat, to lure the boy in.
He travelled to meet the boy, who was 15 despite the man claiming he was 16, and had a two minute encounter with him in a park before Martin asked him to stop. Despite pleading with him, the boy continued and said that he’d “done this before”.
Once finished, the disgraced former teacher gave him around £30, then another £300 a few weeks later after continuing to speak online.
They met up once more where the boy confirmed again that he was actually 15. It was also revealed during the trial that the man has a history of paying for sex with young man all aged around mid-20s.
The man was labelled a “low risk” and was ruled as “unlikely” to be attracted to minors, with the prosecutors seeking a jail term of two years minus one day.
In court, Martin “apologised” for what he had done, and claimed he was only trying to “help” the boy, but admitted to making it “a lot worse”. He also showed “empathy” for the victim, local news reports claimed, and asked for a community service sentence.
Martin also pleaded with the court not to designate him a registered sex offender, despite the boy being underage.
He appeared in court this week walking with a stick and wearing a medical mask.
Hs is set to be sentenced later this year.
