Manitoba man gets 12-year sentence for sexually abusing 2 girls he lured on Snapchat

A Manitoba man has been sentenced to a dozen years behind bars for luring and sexually abusing two girls, ages 12 and 13, he met through social media.

Manitoba man gets 12-year sentence for sexually abusing 2 girls he lured on Snapchat Nathan Donovan Marinko, 24, previously pleaded guilty to 5 offences WARNING | The following contains graphic details of child sexual abuse. A Manitoba man has been sentenced to a dozen years behind bars for luring and sexually abusing two girls, ages 12 and 13, he met through social media.

Nathan Donovan Marinko, 24, was sentenced this week. He lured the girls through Snapchat and Instagram and recorded himself sexually abusing them, a written decision by provincial court Judge Lisa LaBossiere states. "The harm is profound, multifaceted and long-term," she wrote in the decision dated July 14.

"The harm also extends deeply into their families, with lasting consequences." Marinko previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual interference and single counts of luring, making child sexual abuse imagery and possessing child sexual abuse imagery. He admitted to using Snapchat for looking for underage girls with the intent of having sex with them.

Crown attorney Andrew Clark asked for a 14-year sentence, while Marinko's defence lawyer sought eight years. The offences involving the two girls happened in 2023, when Marinko was 21 and 22. It started when he sent the 13-year-old a friend request on Snapchat in January that year.

They eventually met up. The girl started to "repeatedly sneak" Marinko into her bedroom at her grandmother's house, where he would stay for days at a time, court documents state. One of her grandparents discovered him in her room one night in April.

The pair lied and told the grandparents Marinko was 17. By May, the girl told her grandmother she was having intercourse with Marinko. She then took her granddaughter to a clinic and learned she tested positive for chlamydia.

That's when she told her grandmother Marinko's true age, court documents say, and they went to the police. They provided screenshots of Instagram messages with Marinko to investigators. He was arrested in mid-July 2023, at which point he told officers he "knew the relationship was wrong because of her age and that he deleted some of their Instagram messages."

Man recorded sex abuse Marinko knew the 12-year-old before connecting with her on Snapchat. They exchanged sexual images of each other, and Marinko and the girl eventually moved the exchanges over to text messages. The pair then met several times in a park, where he sexually abused the girl.

In messages, Marinko told her "it's hot that you are young" and called her his "little girl," the agreed statement of facts reads. He supplied the girl with vodka during a meeting in the park in May 2023, and she became so intoxicated she had trouble walking. Marinko went on to sexually abuse and record her in the park.

Later that night, he sent the girl 10 videos and five images of the abuse. Her mother found her covered in vomit in her room that night, and she was taken to hospital. The girl's father called police after finding the video and images on her phone, and the girl then underwent a sexual assault exam.

Near the end of July 2023, days after Marinko was arrested in connection with the other case of child sexual abuse, he was arrested again by investigators. His devices were seized, and investigators unearthed a trove of 167 unique images of girls between four and 17 being sexually abused, as well as four videos of children six to 16. They also discovered 20 images and a video of the May sexual assault in the park, and search history of Marinko looking into deleting Snapchat and Instagram messages.

'Depravity' of child sex abuse imagery LaBossiere said the materials in Marinko's possession exemplified the "depravity and how reprehensible" child sexual abuse is. His actions replaced the "stability, joy and optimism" of one girl with "emotional turmoil and high-risk behaviours, including the use of alcohol and repeatedly running away," according to family, who submitted victim impact statements in court earlier this year. That girl dropped out of school, and her ability to "form healthy relationships has been profoundly damaged," court documents state.

The other girl suffered a "dramatic psychological decline," going from "happy, energetic, creative and engaging [to a] dark, withdrawn, unresponsive teen who self-harms." Man was sexually abused in youth: documents Marinko's lawyer argued his client's cognitive impairments and trauma he endured when he was younger should result in a more lenient sentence than what the Crown was seeking. A forensic report suggested Marinko was 90 per cent below peers of his same age in terms of intellectual functioning.

He did not, however, meet the threshold of having an intellectual disability. Court reports suggest his father was violent and that Marinko experienced bullying and racism in school. He was also sexually abused by an older cousin and family acquaintance when he was younger, court documents state.

Court-ordered assessments suggest Marinko has an above-average risk of reoffending sexually and a medium chance of reoffending generally. Marinko had no prior criminal record. Numerous family and community members wrote letters of support for him to the court ahead of sentencing.

LaBossiere said a combined sentence for the five offences Marinko pleaded guilty to would add up to 20 years. She decided on 12, writing that a 20-year sentence could have a "detrimental impact" on his long-term rehabilitative prospects. LaBossiere also issued a range of conditions upon Marinko's release, including placing him on the sex offenders registry for 20 years and restricting him from going near places children frequent.

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Live chat counselling onthe website. - Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention:Search by province or territory for suicide crisis services, suicide bereavement and mental health support. - This guide from theCentre for Addiction and Mental Healthoutlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.

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- Mood changes.