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American Ski Coach Facing Child Porn Charges In BC Indicted

The Canadian Press , 25 Sep, 2014 01:05 PM
  • American Ski Coach Facing Child Porn Charges In BC Indicted

VANCOUVER - An American cross-country ski coach accused of voyeurism and making child porn after allegedly placing a hidden camera at a British Columbia ski resort has been indicted in the U.S.

A federal grand jury in Seattle indicted Jason Paur on five child porn-related offences on Wednesday.

Paur was arrested in B.C. in December 2013 after a video camera was found in the room of female students during a school-sponsored trip at the Silver Star ski resort in Vernon.

The American indictment alleges Paur, a former coach at a private school in Seattle, previously recorded students during ski trips to Vernon in 2011 and 2012.

An application for a search warrant filed in December 2013 by a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security says Paur took his co-ed cross-country ski team to Vernon for a five-day training session that month.

At the chalet, three girls who were sharing a room discovered a camera that was recording video and was partially hidden by curtains on the window sill, the document says.

"Victims 1, 2 and 3 are all minors between the ages of 14 and 16," said special agent Scott Sutehall in an affidavit. "Victim 1 was the first to see the camera and picked it up thinking it was a prank. Victims 1, 2 and 3 stopped the camera from recording and briefly viewed part of one of the videos."

The document says the video showed who the girls believed was Paur setting up the camera in another bedroom, where another group of female teammates were staying.

Sutehall says the girls told the team's chaperones, who confronted Paur and called police.

An officer arrived and viewed the video, which the affidavit says goes on to show a young girl coming out of the bathroom and getting dressed.

RCMP arrested Paur, who remains in custody in Canada.

In B.C., Paur faces charges of voyeurism, possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography and breaking and entering.

On Wednesday, he was indicted in the U.S. on two counts of production and transportation of child pornography, and one count each of production of child pornography with intent to transport, possession of child pornography, and transportation of minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Paur is scheduled to face trial in January in Vernon.

Emily Langlie of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle said efforts to have him extradited will begin after the proceedings.

"However his case gets resolved in Canada, we would expect that we would be next in line to have him be held responsible for this conduct," she said.

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