Judge asked to consider four years in prison — or no jail time — for Edmonton youth worker who lured child

An Edmonton judge is being asked to sentence a former youth worker who lured a 13-year-old and amassed a collection of child sex abuse images to somewhere between house arrest and four years in prison.

Abraham Woo appeared in the Edmonton Court of Justice Monday after pleading guilty to child luring and possession of child pornography. A former youth worker in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Woo admitted to possessing more than 1,000 images and 400 videos of children being sexually abused. He also exchanged sexualized messages with a boy he met through his work, asking him for explicit photos.

Prosecutor Aaron Pegg urged assistant chief Justice Joyce Lester to sentence Woo to four years behind bars. He said the court should give little weight to a report from a psychologist who assessed Woo and suggested the 30-year-old is a low risk to reoffend.

Ravi Prithipaul, Woo’s defence lawyer, cited the recent Supreme Court of Canada case that eliminated mandatory minimums for possession of child sex abuse material. He argued for either a conditional sentence order, to be served in the community, or a one-year jail term.

Prithipaul said his client has experienced a “conversion on the road to Damascus” since his arrest and is working hard to address the roots of his offending through therapy.

“Mr. Woo is deeply ashamed of what he did, (and) that’s how he’s going to get better here,” Prithipaul said.

Psychologist/former MLA testifies

Woo was arrested on Feb. 2, 2024, by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s (ALERT) Internet Child Exploitation unit, which charged him with child luring as well as making, possessing and distributing child pornography. Police said Woo had used social media to lure a youth he knew through his work on a First Nation in Saskatchewan, and that a search of his electronic devices turned up images of children being sexually abused.

Woo had access to children Alberta through his work with Edmonton’s Bent Arrow Society, a local youth group home, Leduc Boys and Girls Club and Pe Metawe Games, ALERT said.

Woo pleaded guilty to the child luring and possession of child porn counts earlier this year. Much of Monday’s sentencing focused on testimony from Debbie Jabbour — a psychologist and former NDP MLA who had been asked by the defence to assess Woo ahead of sentencing.

Jabbour framed Woo’s offending as an outgrowth of abuse he himself suffered in childhood. She suggested he was a low risk to reoffend, but acknowledged she had limited experience assessing child pornography offenders.

When pressed by Pegg on her conclusion that Woo had not shown a sexual interest in children — in part because he had also engaged in age-appropriate relationships — Jabbour said Woo’s criminal behaviour could be an “expression of unresolved trauma” or “curiosity.”

Under questioning from Pegg, Jabbour eventually admitted her conclusion might be flawed, though Pegg said that admission was “hesitant at best.”

“The Crown says that is just an untenable opinion,” Pegg said. He urged the court to give Jabbour’s assessment little weight. 

‘Really profoundly damaged’

Pegg urged a prison sentence, in part because of the seriousness of the collection of child sex abuse material, which included kids being raped and subjected to bondage. Many of the victims had identifiable faces, he added.

“Each of these images of child pornography is a real child who is having their sexual abuse documented.”

Woo also abused a position of trust, creating a chilling effect among parents who will second-guess whether they can entrust their child to groups that work with youth.

Prithipaul replied by disputing the Crown’s framing of events. He denied that Woo engaged in any “grooming” of the child victim, noting the luring “occurred on one single date.” Woo cut off contact as soon as the youth took a screenshot of his illegal request for photos.

Prithipaul said it would be difficult for anyone who experienced Woo’s upbringing not to emerge “really profoundly damaged.”  

“He actually expressed gratitude for the fact he’d been charged,” Prithipaul said. “He knows this is an opportunity — an opportunity for him to get well.”

Woo briefly spoke in court and apologized for his actions. 

Lester is scheduled to give her decision on Feb. 11

. Woo is facing charges in Saskatchewan, though few specifics were discussed at Monday’s hearing.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

x.com/jonnywakefield 

@jonnywakefield.bsky.social

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