Man incarcerated after sharing sexual assault of a minor on Snapchat

Anthony Jacob Dean Collins, age 23, was sentenced last month after pleading guilty to sexual assault. The ruling was made in Fort St John Supreme Court on July 20.  

Collins has been in custody since April 25, 2023, and was given a credit of 129 days against a sentence of 36 months incarceration, leaving 966 days to serve. 

A DNA sample order was also made, and Collins will be registered as a sex offender for the next 20 years in compliance with the Sex Offender Information Registration Act. An order was also made that Collins have no contact with the victim for the duration of his sentence, directly or indirectly. 

An agreed statement of facts was provided to the court, noting the assault occurred on November 7, 2020 at a house party. Collins was only 20 at the time, and met the 13-year-old victim through Snapchat before travelling to Fort St. John to meet in person. 

It’s noted that Collins told the victim to lie about their age, asking them to pretend to be 16. Collins picked the victim up and took them to a local restaurant and pub, where they met up with more people. 

After some time there, Collins, the victim, and three others left, picking up alcohol before going to a residence, which turned into a house party. At the party, Collins had sex with the intoxicated victim in a bathroom, recording the act on a cellphone. 

According to the ruling, Collins also performed oral sex on the victim in front of others at the party and said “who’s next”, which was filmed by multiple people. The videos were later shown to numerous people and shared to a Snapchat group. 

It’s Collins’ first conviction as an adult, with seven youth convictions from 2015 and 2016, including mischief, possession of property obtained by crime, and breaches of undertaking. His previous sentences were probation with community service.

The ruling was made by Justice Anita Chan, who noted Collins’ counsel advised that Collins acknowledged what he did was wrong, and the guilty plea was made to spare the victim “the trauma of going to trial”. 

The ruling also mentions that Collins was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a child, and his condition affects his decision-making, with Collins falling in “with the wrong crowd, involved in the drugs and alcohol scene”. According his counsel, it's a severe form of ADHD, but Collins was not medicated. 

The victim, now 15, faced Collins in court, reading a victim impact statement explaining the harm done. 

In the ruling, it's noted the victim has found it impossible to attend school since the incident and to focus on their studies, and reminded the court that they were a child at the time of the assault, and are still a child now, expressing fear that they will have difficulty trusting men in the future. 

Chan commended the victim for their strength in coming forward and their eloquence in addressing the court, and further acknowledged the victim’s young age. 

“Parliament has recognized the seriousness of sexual offences against children, making this a statutory aggravating factor,” wrote Chan. “The recording of the sexual assault and the sharing of the videos on social media perpetuates the harm inflicted.” 

Tom Summer, Alaska Highway News, Local Journalism Initiative. Have a story idea or opinion? Email [email protected]