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A 35-year-old North Okanagan man that sent a picture of his genitals to someone he thought was a 14-year-old girl, has been convicted of child luring.

At the Vernon Courthouse Oct. 18, Lee Souder sat next to his mother staring at the floor as B.C. Provincial Court Judge Jeremy Guild read his lengthy reasons why he had found him guilty.

The court heard how the father of a teenage girl – whose names are covered under a publication ban – was checking his daughter's cell phone to ensure there was no inappropriate activity when he came across a blocked contact.

The father thought his was unusual and texted the number.

Souder replied.

The father continued messaging, pretending to be his 14-year-old daughter.

The conversation carried on for about two weeks and ended with Souder sending the girl, who just had her 15 birthday, a picture of his penis.

The father then went to the police and Souder was arrested.

He was charged with making sexually explicit material available to a minor for the purpose of facilitating another offence and telecommunicating to lure a child.

Over the course of the text messages, Souder said he would be "all over her" if he was 16 years old, and she made him think "dirty thoughts."

He offered to buy her liquor and made some arrangements to do so.

Judge Guild said there was no dispute that Souder was the person sending the text messages and had sent the photograph of his penis.

However, the Judge said the Crown had to prove that the text messages were sent so that Souder could then commit another offence by meeting the teen and abusing her.

"Just sending her the photograph is not all that is required for the charges he faces," the judge said.

Judge Guild read out a lengthy decision dissecting each statement Souder had said during the earlier trial.

"The defence argued Mr. Souder was not trolling the internet looking for potential victims... he denied initiating the communication and as Mr. Souder testified communication continued simply because he wanted to feel less lonely and isolated during the pandemic," the judge said.

The court heard how Souder had been married for a decade and had two children. He worked 12-hour shifts on weekends and looked after his kids during the week while his wife was at work.

The court heard he was lonely, depressed, and isolated and his marriage was breaking down.

Following his arrest, he was detained under the Mental Health Act and spent four days in hospital.

However, instead of pleading guilty, Souder opted to go trial and attempt to prove he wasn’t trying to lure the teen.

Souder had argued during his trial that he had no intention of committing any other offences, except buying liquor for a teenager.

"He said when he knew (the girl's) age he felt very uncomfortable about continuing the conversation, but continued to do so," the judge said. "The conversations boosted his confidence and made him feel good about himself... he testified he was not thinking of a sexual relationship with (the girl) at the time."

The judge disagreed pointing to multiple text messages Souder had sent.

In one text when asked what Souder was having for lunch he'd replied, "you, with a side of chocolate."

"His testimony begged the question, why would a 34-year-old adult male send to a 15-year-old girl (a text) that implied sexual comment in response to a simple question when nothing sexually had ever been raised?" judge Guild said.

The judge continued to dismiss Souder's testimony.

Souder had said he had no plans to meet the girl and he only sent the picture to make him feel better about himself.

"Again, that made no sense," he said in response to answers Souder had given in court.

"Building trust was his stated goal, it was obvious from the texts," the judge said. "I find he spent considerable time and effort gaining trust before he sent an unsolicited naked picture of himself."

Ultimately, the judge found Souder guilty of child luring and making sexually explicit material available to a minor for the purpose of facilitating another offence.

A psychiatric report was ordered and Souder will be sentenced at a later date.

At no point during the court proceedings was is made evident why Souder's phone number was in the teen's phone in the first place, or why the girl had blocked it.

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