P.E.I. camp counsellor gets 3 years for sex crimes against youth he met at the camp

Dylan Kurt McDonald has worked with children most of his adult life but he'll be banned from holding those jobs going forward. That's after he was sentenced to three years in jail, two of those years for sexually abusing a young person that he met when he was their camp counselor. McDonald was first arrested after a tip led to police seizing over 10,000 images and videos depicting child sex abuse from the 31-year-old. One of those images was of a former camper he met at Oak Acres Children's Camp. The court heard McDonald was reintroduced to his victim through a mutual friend years later. And the two secretly engaged in sex acts at a motel before the victim turned 16. But the province's Supreme Court Chief Justice was clear. It was on McDonald as the adult to prevent that from happening. She also called the situation a parent's worst nightmare. The victim's mother agreed and told the court the abuse changed her child, who is still struggling. McDonald has also worked on PEI as an early childhood educator and a youth worker. But those jobs won't be open to him anymore. He also can't use social media for 10 years. He'll be a registered sex offender for 20. And he's to stay away from young people. Now normally a three-year sentence would mean leaving the province to go to a federal prison but since McDonald got so much credit for the time he's already spent in jail he'll likely be out in early 2027 and it was agreed that he could finish out his sentence here on PEI. After that he'll be released on probation and be on strict conditions for two and a half years. Nicola McLeod, CBC News, Charlottetown.