Markus Hicks has been sentenced to 18.5 years in prison

Content warning: This article discusses sexual offences involving young people and may be disturbing or triggering for some readers.

Markus Hicks has been sentenced to 18.5 years in prison with credit for time served.

The former teacher and volleyball coach was facing over 200 sexual violence charges against 35 survivors.

Police launched the investigation into the 32-year-old back in 2023.

Hicks had posed as people other than himself and was communicating with people online from all over the province, including men and women ranging in age from youth to adults. He used many different social media accounts across multiple platforms.

The investigation unearthed tens of thousands of images and videos dating back over 15 years.