EDMONTON — A pedophile who spent over a decade in prison for sexually assaulting boys while he was employed as a guard at the Kingsclear reform school in New Brunswick has died.
Karl Toft died in Edmonton Saturday morning from lung cancer, according to Charles Ingles, a close friend who met Toft through a community program when he was still living in an Edmonton halfway house.
Toft served 13 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in 1992 to 34 charges related to the abuse of boys at the school near Fredericton. He later admitted to assaulting 200 boys over a 35-year period.
Toft moved to Edmonton after his release from prison, and remained in the city after he was allowed to move out of a halfway house in 2005.
Ingles had been working with the Mustard Seed, a Christian group that helps the poor and homeless, when he met Toft. He says they stayed friends, often discussing scripture.
Ingles says Toft admitted that he remained tempted by children, but worked hard at avoiding places they might be in order not to re-offend.