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The stalking began, as it often does, via text.

Ryan Hammermeister, a former corporal in the Canadian Armed Forces, was 28.

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She was 13 years old.

Hammermeister had seen two deployments to Afghanistan. He lost a close friend to a roadside bomb and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He suffered from flashbacks and started drinking heavily.

Resigning from the Forces in 2012, he took up work as a plumber, but volunteered as an equipment manager with an Edmonton chapter of Cadets Canada.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Hammermeister began communicating with a female cadet in 2013 using text messages, instant messaging and email.

He ramped up pressure on the girl to engage in sex acts. Many of his texts to the girl were manipulative and degrading. He asked her to send pictures of her breasts. When she told him to wait, he insisted, “No, right now.”

One day, Hammermeister convinced the girl to let him come over while her father was at work and they had sex.