A Surrey man has been sentenced to sexual interference in Campbell River after pleading guilty.
Surrey’s Dillon Caleb Partanen, 33, pleaded guilty to sexual interference, possession of child sexual exploitation and abuse material, and failing to comply with a probation order, and was sentenced to five years in jail last Tuesday (Jan. 13) in the Vancouver Island community.
The sentencing, a result of an incident in Campbell River in April of 2024 involving a young person after Partanen engaged with them on Snapchat, included an order for Partanen to provide his DNA and register with the National Sex Offender Registry, which he will remain on for his lifetime.
Sometime in 2023, Partanen started engaging with the youth on the social media platform Snapchat, an RCMP release noted.
In April of 2024, Partanen travelled to Campbell River, where he met the youth and committed the offences. Police were alerted to the incident the day of, and Partanen was subsequently arrested in Campbell River, then released with conditions, which included to not be in Campbell River while he awaited the court process.
“This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers that lurk in the online world,” said Campbell River RCMP Const. Maury Tyre.
“It is so very important for guardians to not just educate, but to supervise the online world in which our youth spend much of their time. Even with internal safeguards of many social media sites, they are still a major meeting place for those who wish to traffic and take advantage of young people.”
The Campbell River RCMP also thanked the BC Prosecution Service “for their hard work and dedication on this difficult investigation.”