Dharm Makwana

A confessed sex tourist who preyed on children abroad faces greater restriction to his movements after a B.C. Supreme Court justice stiffened bail conditions.

Justice Austin Cullen ruled Tuesday Burnaby resident Kenneth Robert Klassen must live under curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and wear an electronic-monitoring device on his ankle. The 59-year-old must report weekly to RCMP in Burnaby and twice a week to his bail supervisor. Klassen's mother will post the balance of a $125,000 bail surety, which was originally set at $50,000.

The sentencing hearing is set for July 22 and 23.

Klassen, last month, pleaded guilty to 15 counts of sex offences, of which 14 involved sexual interference of young girls living in Cambodia and Colombia - all under age 14.

Defence attorney Ian Donaldson successfully argued for Klassen's need for time to attend to daily affairs over the Crown's wishes to keep the man in his home from 3 p.m. to 12 p.m. daily.

Donaldson added Klassen is not a flight risk and has roots in the community as his immediate family lives in B.C. Unconfirmed reports which surfaced last month placed Klassen on Mayne Island where his brother allegedly keeps a home.

Burnaby resident David Bercovici who was on hand for Justice Cullen's decision was flabbergasted by the result.

"Here we've got a guy who has been raping children since '98 ... and he's walking around free in our community," the activist and documentary filmmaker said. "It makes no sense. This is outrageous."

Investigators clued into Klassen when Canada Border Service Agency intercepted a suspicious parcel with DVDs containing images shipped from the Philippines to Vancouver Aug. 27, 2004.

On Sept. 2, 2004 Burnaby Mounties monitored the pick-up of the parcel and arrested Klassen.

"Here we've got a guy who has been raping children since '98 ... and he's walking around free in our community."