Peter Robert Whitmore

After kidnapping two Prairie boys last summer, notorious pedophile Peter Whitmore made them sex slaves, even chaining the 10-year-old up and ordering the child to call him "master."

Those sordid and disturbing details and others about the boys' captivity last July were made public for the first time Monday in a Regina court room shortly before Mr. Whitmore, 36, was handed a life sentence with no chance of parole for seven years.

The sentence was part of a controversial plea bargain struck by the Crown, and supported by the defence, that in exchange for Mr. Whitmore pleading guilty on all 12 charges, he would not be subjected to a dangerous offender application that could have kept the Ontario native in jail indefinitely.

Since news of the impending plea bargain was made public last week, many, including some residents of Whitewood, Sask., where one of the victims is from, have voiced concern that the punishment isn't harsh enough for a man whose sex crimes against children go back to 1989.

Mr. Justice Ian McLellan of the Court of Queen's Bench said the sentence is "appropriate" and public concern is unnecessary because a dangerous offender designation and a life sentence are "almost the same thing" and there is no guarantee Mr. Whitmore will ever receive parole.

He said the plea bargain spared the two victims a trial and potentially having to testifying. "They would have been victims once again," he said.

On Aug. 1, 2006, Mr. Whitmore, a convicted pedophile, was charged with a raft of crimes, including sexual assault and kidnapping after a 10-hour standoff with police at an abandoned farm house near Kipling, Sask. His two victims, who can't be identified because of a court-order publication ban, were a 14-year-old Winnipeg boy and a 10-year-old boy from Whitewood.

According to the statement of facts agreed upon by the Crown and defence, Mr. Whitmore kidnapped both boys after befriending and conning families in July of 2006. At times, the evidence about Mr. Whitmore's sex crimes was so revolting that it made even the veteran judge wince in horror.

In the case of the 14-year-old boy, Mr. Whitmore met his father when they were working at a Winnipeg construction site.

Within days, he had tricked the man into leaving him alone with the teenager during a trip. On July 22, 2006, Mr. Whitmore vanished with the teen to Saskatchewan and the repeated sexual assaults soon began.

Mr. Whitmore forced the teen to shave off his pubic hair so he appeared younger.

The boy later told police he didn't flee because Mr. Whitmore threatened to kill him and his family.

Mr. Whitmore met the 10-year-old on July 23, 2006, when he went to his family's farm to sell a DVD player for gas money. Within days, Mr. Whitmore had hatched a plan to kidnap him. He had the teen lure the boy away from his family home on the ruse the pair were biking to a "haunted house."

Until both boys were rescued by police two days later, Mr. Whitmore repeatedly raped them in an abandoned farmhouse that had no electricity or plumbing. Both were forced to watch child porn. The 10-year-old was chained to a bed at times. He was also forced to walk around the house naked, sometimes attached to a dog leash. At one point, Mr. Whitmore threatened to cut off his skin with an Exacto knife if he didn't co-operate.

Mr. Whitmore fed the boy crackers, tinned meat and cheese popcorn, and made him call him "master."

He intimidated his victims by telling them he was a Navy Seal and had a machine gun hidden in the house. Mr. Whitmore wielded a pellet gun, which he told them could shoot through body armour, and a knife and made constant death threats against the boys.

The boys knew that there was a Canada-wide search for them because Mr. Whitmore allowed them to listen to radio news reports. Mr. Whitmore laughed at the efforts and called the police stupid.

On Aug. 1, 2006, the boys' ordeal came to an end when a tip led the RCMP to the abandoned farmhouse.

There was a 10-hour standoff with police during which Mr. Whitmore attempted to kill himself by drinking a mixture of tobacco and WD-40. He eventually surrendered and the boys were returned to their families.

The court heard from the Crown that both boys and their families are still devastated and traumatized by Mr. Whitmore's crimes.

"I wish none of this ever happend [sic] then I would still be me," the teen, who is now 15, wrote in a victim impact statement. He wrote he no longer trusts people and sleeps in his family's living room because it's the only place he feels safe.

The youngest victim, who is now 11, wrote that he is mad Mr. Whitmore "stole me." He needs sleeping pills at night to go to bed.

"Sometimes what happened is on my mind — I am trying to forget what happened," he wrote.

His mother plans to home-school him and his two sisters next year because a child at their school keeps bullying and calling her only son a "faggot."

Mr. Whitmore showed little emotion during the two-hour court proceedings. Dressed in khaki pants and a dark blue dress shirt, the tall, stocky man quietly said: "I'm sorry, Your Honour" when asked by the judge if he had anything to say to the court.

Mervyn Shaw, his legal aid lawyer, had earlier read a statement from Mr. Whitmore where he apologized for the harm he had caused the boys. Mr. Shaw said there was "no adequate explanation" for his client's crimes, but added he had been physically and sexually abused as a child.

It was disclosed in court documents Monday that while Mr. Whitmore has been awaiting trial in prison, he's been treated twice for self-inflicted injuries, including one where pieces of a ballpoint pen had to be removed surgically from his scrotum.

"[Mr. Whitmore] destroyed so much that can never be restored," Crown prosecutor Anthony Gerein told the judge. "It ends here. It ends now, with life in prison."

CHILLIWACK, B.C. (CP) - Convicted pedophile Peter Whitmore made a brief court appearance here Monday amid signs he may not be shipped back to Ontario immediately.

RCMP in this Fraser Valley city arrested Whitmore, 31, Monday morning. He was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant on allegations he violated the terms of his parole by approaching children in Toronto. "It involved contact with a child, but I can't give any details about it," said Leeann Papizewski of the Toronto police Sexual Assault Squad.

She said Whitmore was arrested by RCMP officers without incident Monday in Chilliwack at the home of his aunt.

Police said earlier they were making arrangements to send Whitmore back to Toronto but the case was put over until Tuesday.

A provincial court duty lawyer told the judge Whitmore would like the allegation that he breached his parole dealt with here.

Chilliwack RCMP said they had no complaints from area children about Whitmore, who they say had been in the city only four or five days.

Whitmore was convicted in 1993 and 1995 for sexual offences, including the abduction, confinement and sexual assault of an eight-year-old boy and sexual interference of a nine-year-old boy. Shortly after Whitmore's release in November 2000, he was found in a hotel room with a 13-year-old boy.

November 14, 2000 Times Colonist

::::::::::::::: quote ::::::::::: Freed pedophile faces new charge Toronto (CP) The arrest Monday of a notorious pedophile at a downtown hotel has re-ignited the debate over how to deal with repeat sexual offenders.

Police said Peter Whitmore, 29, whose release from prison last month was met with fear and outrage, was arrested after they received an anonymous tip and he was discovered in a hotel room with a young teenage boy. "On arriving at the hotel, Mr. Whitmore was located in one of the rooms in the company of a 13-year-old male runaway," said police in a news release. The boy wasn't physically harmed.

Police say the sexual assault squad was investigating to determine whether he was sexually abused. Whitmore is facing charges of violation of the conditions of his release from Toronto's Don Jail last month--a release that prompted police to notify residents of his whereabouts due to what they called his high risk of reoffending.

Under the release conditions, Whitmore was prohibited from being in the company of anyone under the age of 14 unless accompanied by an adult or approved by police. He was also barred from schools, day-care centres, parks, swimming pools and ordered to report to police weekly.

Angry west-end Toronto residents drove Whitmore from the house where he was staying with a church minister immediately following his October release. He moved to a hotel and was under 224-hour police surveillance for a few days before he moved to a downtown home.

Whitmore made a brief court appearance Monday and was scheduled to appear in court again today. Sgt. Robb Knapper said police were asking for a detention order for Whitmore, which would deny him bail.

Daniel Brodsky, the lawyer representing Whitmore, said the request was "not surprising, considering the circumstances."

Whitmore was convicted in 1993 and 1995 for sexual offences, including the abduction, confinement of an eight-year-old boy and sexual interference of a nine-year-old boy. After serving a five-year sentence, he was released last December. He was arrested in Mexico a short time later because he failed to tell police he was moving.

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Convicted Sex Offender

Whitmore's sordid crimes revealed