St. Catharines man claiming to be counsellor for at-risk youth exploited teenaged boy, court hears

Claiming he was a counsellor for at-risk youth, the 37-year-old St. Catharines man told a concerned mother he'd help her teenaged son address his struggles with anxiety and substance abuse.

The mother trusted Craig Doig and encouraged her 14-year-old to spend time with him.

Mr. Doig built a false sense of trust with (the victim's mother) which led her to drive him to Doig's residence for counselling sessions under the belief that he was in a safe space," Crown attorney Michal Sokolski said in an Ontario Court of Justice in St. Catharines Tuesday.

In the summer of 2021, not long after their first meeting, the mother found her son sleeping heavily, appearing to be under the influence of drugs.

He had his unlocked cellphone in his hand.

The mother scrolled through the phone and was shocked by what she found.

The phone contained multiple videos of the man she thought of as a counsellor engaging in sexual activity with her child.

Doig on Tuesday pleaded guilty to sexual interference and making child pornography. He is expected to return to court for sentencing in May.

Sokolski told the judge one video was sent to an unknown number but it is not known if the videos were uploaded to the internet.

Police were unable to assert with any degree of certainty that they were uploaded," he said.

It may very well be out in cyberspace but we don't have any evidence that it's there."

Court was told the defendant met the victim on the online dating app Grindr. He was aware of the victim's age.

At the time of the investigation, Doig was before the courts on charges of uttering threats which was result of him planning to meet someone he thought was a 14-year-old boy but was instead confronted by a YouTuber who exposes child predators.

In May 2021, the offender was convicted of forcible confinement and public mischief relating to again planning to meet with someone he thought was a teenaged boy that turned out to be an adult looking to expose child predators.

On those charges, he received a conditional sentence order and placed on probation.

Alison Langley is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Niagara Falls Review. Reach her via email: alison.langley@niagaradailies.com