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Trying to lure a Calgary police officer posing as a teenage girl into a sexual tryst has landed a city man a two-year prison term and probation.
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But Allan Ray Rico’s legal troubles won’t end when his sentence in completed, court heard Friday.
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Justice Willie deWit was told the Philippines native will be facing potential deportation as he only has permanent resident status, despite arriving in Canada in 1999.
DeWit said Rico’s potential immigration woes was one of two mitigating factors which justified the joint sentencing submission proposed by Crown and defence lawyers.
Rico, 39, pleaded guilty to a charge of Internet luring for the purpose of committing a sexual offence with a minor as well as possession of methamphetamine.
Reading from a statement of agreed facts, Crown prosecutor Tara Hayes told the Court of King’s Bench judge that Rico was nabbed through an undercover operation commenced in January 2021.
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“The undercover officer represented that they were a 14-year-old female named Cassie Baker,” Hayes said.
She said the undercover operator created a Facebook profile under that name.
“The content of Cassie’s Facebook profile was designed to demonstrate that Cassie was a teenager,” Hayes said.
Her profile listed her date of birth as March 10, 2006, meaning she turned 15 during the course of Rico’s communications between Jan. 14, 2021, and his April 1, 2021, arrest.
During the communications Rico used sexually explicit language with whom he thought was a teenage girl, Hayes told deWit.
He also asked her to send sexually explicit photos, which would have constituted child pornography, she said.
“The accused also sent images of himself to Cassie, including images where his face was visible.”
Rico also supplied photos of his privates, she said.
Rico arranged to meet with the officer on April 1, at the Whitehorn LRT station for the purpose of having sex and was arrested there by police.
At the time he was in possession of 1.3 grams of methamphetamines.
On Twitter: @KMartinCourts
