{{Short description|Canadian convicted child sex offender from British Columbia}} {{Infobox criminal | name = Kenneth Klassen | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1951}} | birth_place = Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | residence = | other_names = | occupation = Art dealer | known_for = Videotaping himself sexually abusing children | height = | weight = | predecessor = | successor = | religion = | criminal_charge = | penalty = 11 years' imprisonment | conviction_status = In prison | spouse = <!--Do not include spouse unless notable or they are relevant to the crime.--> | children = <!--Do not include children unless notable or they are relevant to the crime.--> | parents = <!--Do not include parents unless notable or they are relevant to the crime.--> | allegiance = | motive = | conviction = Child pornography<br>Child sex tourism | reward_amount = | capture_status = | wanted_by = | partners = | wanted_since = | time_at_large = | escaped = | escape_end = | comments = | victims = | date = | time = | beginyear = | endyear = | country = | states = | locations = | targets = | fatalities = | injuries = | weapons = | apprehended = | imprisoned = | footnotes = }}
'''Kenneth Klassen''' (born 1951) is a Canadian convicted child sex offender from Burnaby, British Columbia.<ref>{{Cite news|work=The Vancouver Sun |title=Sex tourism law upheld |date=December 24, 2008 |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=00a5ca0c-7a4e-452f-94dc-9d299ae48907 |access-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320002718/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=00a5ca0c-7a4e-452f-94dc-9d299ae48907 |archive-date=March 20, 2014 }}</ref>
Starting at the age of 27 or 28, Klassen began sexually abusing children and continued doing so for more than 25 years.<ref>{{Cite news|work=The Vancouver Sun |title=Nobody should have to see this stuff |date=July 23, 2010 |url=http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=4517ef80-05a1-4c01-9860-a1bec67ea2c8&sponsor= |access-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320002716/http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=4517ef80-05a1-4c01-9860-a1bec67ea2c8&sponsor= |archive-date=March 20, 2014 }}</ref> He sexually abused fourteen children as a sex tourist in Cambodia and Colombia between December 1998 and March 2002<ref>{{Cite news|work=Truro Daily News|title=B.C. man pleads guilty to 14 sex tourism charges involving underage girls|date=May 21, 2010|url=http://www.trurodaily.com/News/Canada---World/2010-05-21/article-1144166/B.C.-man-pleads-guilty-to-14-sex-tourism-charges-involving-underage-girls/1|access-date=December 6, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131206223619/http://www.trurodaily.com/News/Canada---World/2010-05-21/article-1144166/B.C.-man-pleads-guilty-to-14-sex-tourism-charges-involving-underage-girls/1|archive-date=December 6, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and videotaped himself while doing so.<ref>{{Cite news|work=The Globe and Mail|title='Sex tourist' Kenneth Klassen sentenced to 11 years|date=July 28, 2010|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/sex-tourist-kenneth-klassen-sentenced-to-11-years/article1389746/ |access-date=December 6, 2013}}</ref> The victims were all less than 14 years old,<ref>{{Cite news|work=CBC News|title=Bail for sex tourist angers advocate|date=May 27, 2010|url=http://www.kelowna.com/2010/05/27/bail-for-sex-tourist-angers-advocate/|access-date=December 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212235420/http://www.kelowna.com/2010/05/27/bail-for-sex-tourist-angers-advocate/|archive-date=December 12, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> and they ranged in age to as young as 8 years old.<ref>{{Cite news|work=Ottawa Citizen|title=Sex tourism still thrives in Asia, while sex offender appears in B.C. court|author=Tamsyn Burgmann|date=December 4, 2013|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/tourism+still+thrives+Asia+while+offender+appears+court/9247862/story.html|access-date=December 6, 2013|archive-date=December 11, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211175313/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/tourism+still+thrives+Asia+while+offender+appears+court/9247862/story.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2010, he was convicted of having engaged in child sex tourism and having broken Canada's child pornography laws.<ref>{{Cite news|work=CBC News|title=B.C. man gets 11 years for child sex tourism|date=July 28, 2010|url=http://www.kelowna.com/2010/07/28/b-c-man-gets-11-years-for-child-sex-tourism/|access-date=December 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213000406/http://www.kelowna.com/2010/07/28/b-c-man-gets-11-years-for-child-sex-tourism/|archive-date=December 13, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Klassen was sentenced to eleven years in prison, which was, at the time, the harshest sentence anyone had ever received for breaking Canada's law against sex tourism.<ref>{{Cite news|work=The Seattle Times |title=Canadian man gets 11 years for sex tourism charges |date=July 28, 2010 |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2012469759_apcncanadasextourismconviction.html |access-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212221748/http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2012469759_apcncanadasextourismconviction.html |archive-date=December 12, 2013 }}</ref> The law came into force thirteen years before Klassen's conviction, and only two other people had been convicted under that law in that time.<ref>{{Cite news|work=Times Colonist |title=Sex tourism laws aren't adequate |author=Ginny Gareau |date=July 30, 2010 |url=http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=dbce6f4e-eca7-4131-ac15-132b5ca3f132&sponsor= |access-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320002719/http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=dbce6f4e-eca7-4131-ac15-132b5ca3f132&sponsor= |archive-date=March 20, 2014 }}</ref>
An article about Klassen's sex crimes, written by journalist Daphne Bramham for ''The Vancouver Sun'', was nominated for the Beyond Borders media award for exceptional coverage of issues related child sexual exploitation.<ref>{{Cite news|work=The Vancouver Sun |title=Bramham nominated for print media award |date=September 30, 2010 |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=456cfb27-13df-46ec-ace4-3c02982aee00 |access-date=December 6, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320002715/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=456cfb27-13df-46ec-ace4-3c02982aee00 |archive-date=March 20, 2014 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klassen, Kenneth}} Category:Living people Category:1951 births Category:Canadian art dealers Category:Canadian people convicted of child pornography offenses Category:Canadian people convicted of child sexual abuse Category:Child prostitution Category:People from Burnaby Category:Businesspeople from British Columbia Category:Prisoners and detainees of Canada Category:Canadian prisoners and detainees