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Vernon man sentenced to 6 months jail for attempting to lure teen

David Gilbert Warnock was charged with telecommunication to lure a child under 16 in 2020
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David Gilbert Warnock was sentenced to six months jail Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, for attempting to lure a child under 16. He was charged in 2020 and pleaded guilty in May 2021. (Caitlin Clow - Morning Star)

A Vernon man has been sentenced to six months in jail for attempting to lure a child under 16 into a sexual encounter.

David Gilbert Warnock was charged with luring a 14-year-old boy in 2020. He pleaded guilty to the single charge in May 2021.

Warnock was sentenced in Vernon court on Tuesday, Feb. 15. His sentence will be followed by 18 months of probation, according to Dan McLaughlin, communications counsel for the B.C. Prosecution Service.

Warnock was also placed on the national sex offender registry for 10 years.

Warnock was the subject of a 2020 investigation by Goofbusters, a vigilante Facebook group that goes undercover to trick and publicly shame pedophiles. Goofbusters posted a video confronting a man in a vehicle, said to be Warnock, who immediately drove away before speaking to them.

In the video, a man can be heard saying “If you leave we’re calling the cops.”

The Goofbusters group hasn’t been active since May 2021, when the video was posted.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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