Alberta trucker jailed for ‘sextortion’

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A Grande Prairie trucker who repeatedly extorted and harassed a prostitute to get free sex has been sentenced to 12 months in jail and a year’s probation.

Between November 2022 and December 2023, Kyle James Drysdale “contacted the victim for sex and drugs ‘well over a thousand times’ via text messages, phone calls, and emails despite” the woman’s attempts to block him and her “expressions of displeasure,” Judge Jasmine Sihra of the Alberta Court of Justice wrote in a recent decision.

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“The victim was a ‘working girl’ (her term) retained by (Drysdale), and with whom (he) later had a four-day relationship that ended. There continued to be paid sex between the two for a time. Then, when the victim was discontinuing paid sex work, the accused threatened multiple times that unless she had (unpaid) sex with him, he would reveal their sexual activity to the father of her child.”

The woman “did not want to have further sex” with Drysdale, said the judge.

“However, she would acquiesce because of the accused’s threats and her desire to keep intact her family unit, consisting of her boyfriend and their child. The sex in question took place on several occasions at (Drysdale’s home) and a few times at the victim’s place. The sex made the victim feel ‘worthless and ashamed.’”

Drysdale, 36, was convicted after a trial of extortion and harassment.

The Crown argued the judge should sentence him to 12 months’ in jail on the extortion charge followed by a year of probation on the harassment charge. “The defence seeks a 24-month conditional sentence order followed by 12 months’ probation,” Sihra said in her decision dated March 6.

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He has worked intermittently as a truck driver since the age of 17. “At this time, he works on his parents’ farm and is also employed as a truck driver for a cousin,” said the decision.

Drysdale had nine previous convictions between January 2012 and May 2016 for impaired driving, drug possession, failing to comply with court orders, unauthorized possession of a firearm, obstructing a peace officer, assault with a weapon, and disarming a peace officer.

“Deterrence and denunciation are key objectives in sentencing” Drysdale, said the judge, noting the charges he was convicted of are serious.

“Moreover, the extortion in question was ‘sextortion,’ where the accused extorted the victim to obtain sexual acts, thereby violating her bodily integrity,” Sihra said.

Drysdale exhibited a “pattern of unlawful conduct,” said the judge. “Such occurred over the course of a year in the form of repeated unwanted communications that tormented the victim, and in effect resulted in multiple sexual assaults.”

Drysdale “was either aware that his conduct was harmful to the victim or he was willfully blind. His moral culpability is very elevated,” Sihra said.

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The judge considered it an aggravating circumstance that Drysdale’s illegal actions went on for about a year. “He had many opportunities to stop his criminal behaviour, especially given the victim’s expressed discontent, but did not do so,” said the judge.

Drysdale began taking drugs at the age of 13, said the decision.

“Over the years, he has used a variety of substances including OxyContin, heroin and methamphetamine. He stated that, at the height of his addiction, he was using whatever substances he could acquire. He attended residential treatment at one point in Ontario.”

Drysdale also went through “aversion therapy in Mexico using the psychedelic substance, Ibogaine,” Sihra said, noting his “mother is reported as saying there has been a significant change in the accused’s demeanour over the last five years, attributing it to the Ibogaine treatment.”

Drysdale admitted he still takes drugs “every now and then for stress,” said the judge, noting there was no evidence presented to show he was getting “any assessment, counselling, or treatment … despite the fact that the accused acknowledged there to be a correlation between his past convictions and substance use.”

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The judge concluded that house arrest wasn’t appropriate in Drysdale’s case.

“The accused bombarded the victim with unwanted communications over a thousand times in a year despite her rebuffs,” Sihra said.

“He made her have sex against her wishes multiple times. The offences of sextortion and criminal harassment on the subject facts are so grave, only actual incarceration can convey the proper message of deterrence and denunciation.”

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