Content warning: This story contains details of sexual crimes against a minor.
After failing to get critical evidence thrown out, a Burnaby man has pleaded guilty to multiple sexual offences against a child he met through an online "furry" group.
Furries are people who create anthropomorphized animal characters or "fursonas," with whom they identify.
Some furries wear elaborate costumes or "fursuits" or paraphernalia such as animal ears or tails, or represent themselves as anthropomorphic animals in online communities.
Police investigation
On March 3, 2022, the organizers of VancouFur, a furry convention in Surrey, were approached by a 14-year-old girl who told them a man had touched her in a sexual way in his hotel room.
That report would lead to a police investigation and multiple charges against then 38-year-old Adam Woolacott, including sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, arranging or agreeing on a sexual offence against a child and making sexually explicit material available to a child under 16.
Woolacott was scheduled to stand trial in Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»provincial court Wednesday but pleaded guilty to five of the nine charges instead.
According to an agreed statement of facts read out by Crown prosecutor Jacinta Lawton, Woolacott had met his victim, identified in court only by her initials, through a furries-oriented Facebook group in December 2019 when she was 12 years old and he was 35.
She had direct messaged him because she liked the furry grey and purple bunny head in his profile photo, according to the facts.
"The text communications became sexual quickly, even though within a few days of messaging, [the victim] disclosed to the accused that she was 12 years old," Lawton said. "The accused acknowledged this and continued to communicate with [the victim] in a sexual manner."
The girl "developed feelings" for Woolacott because he made her feel good, saying she was beautiful and saying he loved her, according to the facts.
Five in-person encounters
Aside from the sexual messages, the two had five in-person encounters, three at Burnaby parks, one at the North Burnaby townhouse Woolacott shared with his mother and one at his hotel room during the VancouFur convention.
During the first encounter at a park, Woolacott squeezed and rubbed the girl's breasts over her sweater.
"This was the first time she had been touched like that. She did not know what to do," Lawton said.
During the second encounter at Woolacott's townhouse, they had sexual intercourse.
"During this, [the victim] put a pillow over her head. She was embarrassed. It hurt, but she did not tell him," Lawton said.
The girl told police one wall of Woolacott's room was covered with My Little Pony collectibles and the other with a collection of comic books.
She also told police he had shown her a "distinctive dragon sex toy."
During the VancouFur convention on March 3, 2022, the girl had gone to Woolacott's hotel room.
After some sexual touching, he said he wanted to have sex and that he had brought condoms.
"She did not want to have intercourse and wanted to just hang out without anything sexual happening," Lawton said. "She became upset and left the room."
Convention staff contacted Surrey RCMP, and the girl gave a one-and-a-half hour statement to police the same day, according to the facts.
When Burnaby RCMP took over the case, she gave another three-hour statement on March 8, 2022.
Police executed a search warrant on Woolacott's house two days later, taking photos of the place and seizing multiple electronic devices.
Police also obtained CCTV video from the Sheraton Hotel that showed Woolacott and the girl together at the VancouFur convention.
And the girl's tablet had hundreds of text messages from Woolacott on it, according to the facts.
Invalid search warrant
Woolacott's lawyer Allen Goldin applied to have the evidence thrown out, arguing the search of his client's home had been unlawful because there hadn't been sufficient credible and reliable evidence to issue a warrant.
On Aug. 26, B.C. provincial court Judge Donna Senniw agreed the warrant had not been validly issued and the search had therefore been unlawful, but she did not throw out the evidence.
In another ruling Tuesday, Senniw said the charter breach had not been deliberate.
She noted police believed they were acting lawfully because they had a warrant "which is presumed to be valid."
"They were therefore acting in good faith," Senniw said.
Senniw also noted the evidence could have been obtained lawfully another way, making the breach less serious.
"Society has a significant interest in adjudicating these serious allegations," Senniw said. "Maintaining the integrity of and the public confidence in the justice system in these circumstances leads to the inclusion of the evidence obtained from the search at the residence. On balance, its exclusion would bring the administration of justice into disrepute."
Senniw ordered a pre-sentencing report with a psychological component for sentencing.
The report will included a risk assessment and an opinion on autism spectrum disordered requested by Goldin.
Woolacott’s next court date, to confirm completion of the report, is set for Nov. 7.
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