Sask. sex offender who smuggled 2 kids into U.S. signs plea deal

A convicted sex offender living in Saskatchewan who cut through a fence to drive across the Canada-U.S. border with two children and their mother has entered a plea agreement.

The agreement filed in South Dakota court last week says Benjamin Martin Moore will be pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a period of supervised release of five years to life.

An agreed statement of facts entered in court says Moore, along with the children and their mother, illegally crossed the border in August 2022 and travelled to a campground near Sturgis, S.D.

The seven-year-old girl and eight-year-old boy were the centre of an Amber Alert after they were not found at their home in Eastend in southwest Saskatchewan.

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Moore was arrested after two days at the Sturgis campground.

The court document says U.S. agents pinnedMoore's vehicle to stop the man from fleeing with the woman and children.

It says a cellphone and SIM card found in Moore's possession contained child pornography. Police also found an extensive number of electronic devices.

The plea agreement is to be considered by a judge. A date for sentencing has not been set.

Moore is also facing charges in Canada for failing to report a change of address, which is required for convicted sex offenders, and breaching a court order not to have weapons.

At the time of the Amber Alert, Mounties said Moore was being investigated by social services in Saskatchewan. The U.S. court document says when Moore was contacted by social services, he lied and said he and the woman and childrenwere in Ontario.

Instead, Moore drove them to the border near Turner, Mont., where he cut through a barbed wire fence in the middle of the night, says the document.

RCMP had said they were concerned due to Moore's background.

Canadian court records show Moore was convicted in 2009 for sexual interference of a minor. He was sentenced in Regina provincial court to two years and two months in prison.

The records also say he served three months in jail in 2011, after he was convicted of breaching a recognizance order.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2023.