Two men plead guilty to child luring in sting operation

Two Nova Scotia men have pleaded guilty to child luring as a result of an underage sex sting conducted by the Halifax Regional Police and RCMP in February.

Pierre (Rick) Joseph Simon, of Hilden, pleaded guilty to one charge of internet luring on June 19 in Halifax provincial court.

The 57-year-old former chief executive officer of the Shubenacadie First Nation is set to return to court on Sept. 3 for sentencing.

Donald William Moore, of Shubenacadie, pleaded guilty earlier and is set to be sentenced on Aug. 16.

In February, police announced they had launched a four-day operation after noticing an increase in the number of young women engaged in online prostitution.

An officer, playing the role of a 16-year-old teen girl, messaged online with men who agreed to pay for sex with the teen. The undercover officer exchanged hundreds of emails with adult men and arranged meetings for sexual services to take place at local hotels.

Police arrested five men as they showed up to the hotels and charged them with using a computer to communicate with someone they believed to be younger than 18 for the purpose of prostitution.

Along with Simon and Moore, Mitchell Gary Rose-Kays, Alan Tek and Peter Lee White — all from Halifax — were also charged with child luring.

Tek, 29, has pleaded not guilty to the charge and faces a trial on Oct. 2.

Rose-Kays, 25, was expected to appear in Halifax provincial court on Tuesday to request an adjournment. His next court date is set for Nov. 20.

White, 39, was sentenced June 21 to one charge of luring. He was sentenced to six months in jail, plus 18 months of probation. White must also give a DNA sample and his name will be on the sex-offender registry for 10 years.