Court date set for Kingston child sex offender Mark Bedford

Convicted child predator Mark Bedford was represented in Kingston at the Ontario Court of Justice criminal court today by his lawyer, Brian Callender, as a date was selected for his trial.

In 2008, Bedford was convicted of 10 crimes including committing/inciting bestiality, luring a child under age 14 by computer, several child pornography offences, two charges of extortion, and criminal harassment.

As a 23-year-old computer student at St. Lawrence College, Bedford was caught sexually exploiting girls into performing explicit acts on webcam from his parent’s basement computer. There are a total of 63 victims between 9 to 15 from numerous countries named in court, according to a 2009 National Parole Board detention review decision sheet that notes “police believe there are likely hundreds of other victims.”

Judge Patrick Hurley described Bedford’s “prolonged and cruel manipulation of vulnerable, mostly pubescent, females” into “committing sexual acts alone, with friends and siblings and, on two occasions, a family pet” in a March 2018 case brief.

“Bedford failed to show any insight into his destructive behaviour and did not meaningfully participate in any sexual offender counselling programs during his incarceration,” according to Judge Hurley. “The level of his sexual depravity is truly stunning.”

Bedford finished a three-year prison sentence in March 2011, and was subject to special peace bonds intended to prevent him having any contact with children or using the internet. He received another prison sentence in June 2013 for violating that bond, and was released again in August 2015 after serving the full sentence. Kingston Police applied for another two-year peace bond after Bedford’s second release, which Bedford appealed. A court ruled against Bedford’s appeal in January 2017, and he was released on bail under strict conditions in April 2019 after being acquitted on allegations of violating his 18-month public safety peace bond. 

Bedford will return to court on Tuesday, Jul. 30, 2019 at 9 a.m.