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The FBI announced Saturday that a Sylmer man has been sentenced to life in federal prison for committing multiple violent sexual offences against minors and possessing more than 115,000 child sexual abuse material (CSAM) files of at least 207 real children, including toddlers and toddlers.
The inmate, identified as 79-year-old Edwin Bernard, was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to four counts of child exploitation, including possession, distribution, production and the like, and the coercion and seduction of sexually involved minors.
Bernard was searching for young boys from at least 2009 to 2014 online, according to the FBI, and was romantically and sexually involved.
“By at least 2009, Bernard was moderator under the usernames “Netzoomer” and “Netzoomer16″ on websites where men attempt to sexually engage with minor boys,” the FBI release said. “Through this connection, Bernard met the 14-year-old victim and instructed the victim to have sex, including amputation to the point of bleeding that was recorded at least twice without the victim’s permission or knowledge.”
In 2014, Bernard flew from California to another state, in addition to other sexual offences committed through online communications. There, one of the grooming victims resided and rented a hotel room where a 16-year-old boy was taken. “After instructing the victim to undress, Bernard raped him,” the FBI said.
Edwin Bernard, 79, can be seen in this undated photo. (FBI)
According to the release, Bernard encouraged others to engage in child sexual abuse. One of them, Michael Rushmer, was arrested and declared in 2019 for producing CSAM and having sex with a minor.
When the FBI searched Bernard’s home on December 9, 2015, they found over 115,000 files across Bernard’s device that contained suspected CSAM.
“The National Missing Persons and Exploited Children (NCMEC) have identified at least 207 real children whose sexual abuse was depicted on images and videos owned by the defendant,” the release said. “There were multiple videos and images depicting infants and toddlers, and there were masochistic sexual acts involving children under the age of 12. Based on analyses of the metadata, Bernard had been collecting CSAM files for over a decade.”
The FBI believes that Bernard may have additional victims who have not yet been identified, urging people who believe the victim is at the expense and to contact information about the victim at 1-800-Call-FBI.
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