Man who fled Canada to avoid jail for child exploitation conviction extradited from U.S.

Police shared this photo of extradited child exploiter William Tate. (Victoria Police Department)

A man who fled Canada before his jail sentence on Vancouver Island was slated to begin last year has been returned to the country, Victoria police say.

William Tate failed to report to the Vancouver Island Regional Correction Centre to begin serving his sentence of two years less one day for child exploitation charges—offences previously referred to in the Criminal Code as “child pornography.”

The Victoria Police Department did not specify the exact charges Tate had been convicted of in its news release announcing his extradition to Canada from the U.S. Thursday.

Previous CTV News coverage of the sentencing of a man by that name indicates he pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of transmission of it.

After Tate failed to report to the VIRCC, a warrant for his arrest was issued on the charge of escape from lawful custody, Victoria police said.

The department said it tracked Tate in the U.S. in collaboration with that country’s Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Authorities located Tate in the San Francisco area, police said, adding that officers escorted him on a flight back to Canada on Thursday. He has since been turned over to B.C. Corrections.

“VicPD would like to thank the officers involved for their dedication throughout this complex investigation and the successful coordination of this international effort,” the release concludes.