Hicks pleaded guilty to 54 charges, including sexual assault, child pornography offences, wearing a disguise, child luring, identity fraud and othersPublished Jul 01, 2025Last updated 1 hour ago5 minute readMarkus Hicks appears in provincial court in St. John’s by video from the Bishops Falls Correctional Centre, June 30, 2025. – Tara Bradbury/The TelegramArticle contentWarning: This story contains details that may be disturbing to some readers.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentArticle contentArticle contentMarkus Hicks was out of the country when police first started investigating him for sexual violence offences, but by the time he arrived back at St. John’s International Airport in late August 2023 and got into his white Rav-4 to drive home, they were following behind him. Article contentDays earlier, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary had received a sexual assault complaint involving Hicks, with a parent reporting his son and a group of friends had been receiving offers of sexual acts from a person on SnapChat presenting themselves as female, with the username “BellaRicci4.” Article contentArticle contentThrough their investigation, police received an address on Trails End Drive in Paradise, and learned Hicks, a high school teacher and a provincial volleyball coach, was the homeowner. Officers followed him from the airport to the residence, then kept watch on the home, determining he was the only one who lived there. Article contentThe next day, RNC officers followed Hicks to a St. John’s bakery, approached him and seized his cellphone. They also executed a search warrant on his house, seizing two laptops, another mobile phone, a jump drive and an external hard drive. Article contentOn the devices, investigators found thousands of pictures and videos, determining some to be child sexual abuse material. Some had been recorded from SnapChat, with the youths’ names displayed. Article contentThey also uncovered an app allowing a user to alter their voice to sound like a female. Article contentArticle contentPolice found evidence of multiple social media accounts and at least 24 online identities, both male and female, as well as communications with named contacts that dated back to 2006. Article contentDiscovery in the basementArticle contentIn the basement of the home, police found a set of dark curtains hung in a doorway, held closed with butterfly clips, with a waist-high opening in the middle. A curtain was later found to carry Hicks’ DNA as well as that of several of the complainants. Article contentHicks was arrested Sept. 6, 2023, and his list of charges grew over the next year as police publicly released his usernames and more complainants came forward, one by one. He was eventually charged with 218 offences against 35 people and pleaded not guilty to all of them. Article content Markus Hicks appears in a St. John’s courtroom by video from the Bishops Falls Correctional Centre Monday, June 30, 2025, while defence lawyers (L-R) Jason Edwards and Ellen O’Gorman, and prosecutors Lesley Pike and Mark James attend in person. Hicks pleaded guilty to 54 charges of sexual violence offences, many of them against youth. – Photo by Tara Bradbury/The TelegramArticle contentIn provincial court Monday, June 30, Hicks pleaded guilty to 54 charges as part of an arrangement with the Crown that avoided a seven-month trial with dozens of witnesses. Article contentThe convictions include: 13 counts of sexual assault, 12 of wearing a disguise with the intent to commit a crime, several counts each of child pornography offences, breach of trust, child luring, and making sexual explicit material available to children; and single counts of exploitation, invitation to sexual touching, sexual interference, identity fraud and impersonation. Article contentHicks appeared in the courtroom by video from the Bishops Falls Correctional Centre, as prosecutors Mark James and Lesley Pike read aloud a 32-page agreed statement of facts involving 18 complainants. Article contentTwo of them are women Hicks went to university with in the U.K., whom he defrauded by passing their pictures off as two of his fake identities: “Isabella Ricci,” an Italian student whom he was tutoring, and “Corrine Smith,” his cousin. Article contentComplainants believed they were interacting with a femaleArticle contentThe male complainants had similar statements: Isabella or Corrine added them on social media and began chatting with them, sending nude and explicit photos and videos, and persistently requesting the complainants send the same. Article contentArticle contentMany of the complainants were previously familiar with Hicks and interacted with the online profiles after Hicks told the the females were real and that he knew them. Article contentArticle contentThe complainants – who were between 15 and 30 years old – were each invited to Hicks’ home by Isabella or Corrine for sexual acts through the hole in the curtain. They were instructed to park down the street, come inside and go downstairs, not to speak, and to leave when finished. Article contentNone of the complainants knew it was Hicks behind the curtain, and they all believed they were interacting with a female, given the lengths Hicks had gone through to convince them the online accounts were real. All the complainants told police they would never have consented to the activity if they had known the truth. Article contentOne complainant, who had known Hicks for years, ripped down the curtain and confronted him. Hicks told him he owned the Corrine account and had deleted it, and said the pictures he had sent were of a friend. Article contentArticle contentTerrifying incident involving male in ski maskArticle contentAnother complainant told police he was 19 when he began communicating and sharing explicit photos with a guy he knew who was also acquainted with Hicks. The guy told him they could be together, but only if the complainant had sex with Hicks first. The complainant later learned he had been communicating with Hicks the whole time. Article contentIn another incident, a 16-year-old who believed he was chatting online with another teenaged boy agreed to meet him in an elementary school parking lot one evening. The complainant got into a white Rav-4 and found a male in the driver’s seat wearing a black ski mask, who terrified him by locking the vehicle doors and driving away. The driver refused to remove the mask and grew upset when the boy told him his friends were waiting for him behind the school. Article contentReturning to the school parking lot, the driver, who was not identified, sexually assaulted the boy. Hicks acknowledged luring the youth to the school. Article contentA 22-year-old told police he had viewed Hicks as an authority figure and mentor, and said he had always felt safe with him, until he turned 18 and Hicks’ behaviour towards him grew “flirty.” The complainant began interacting with Isabella after Hicks showed him a photo of her and said she wanted to meet him. When the complainant cut contact with Isabella, Hicks told him, “She misses you.” Article content Sex offender Markus Hicks, a former junior high and high school teacher, is seen in a Facebook photo.Article contentComplainants to present victim impact statementsArticle contentEventually, one of the complainants recognized Hicks’ vehicle outside the Paradise home and spoke about it with friends who had also interacted with Isabella. Together, they watched the house for months, seeing Hicks come and go. Article contentOne of the males disclosed to his father what they knew about Hicks, and police were called. Article contentHicks is scheduled to be sentenced over three days in November, with the complainants presenting victim impact statements. Article contentIn the meantime, defence lawyers Jason Edwards and Ellen O’Gorman have requested a pre-sentence report. Article content“Mr. Hicks, I’ve convicted you of 54 counts,” Provincial Court Chief Judge Robin Fowler said, confirming the sentencing dates and asking Hicks if he understood. Article content“Yes, Your Honour,” Hicks replied. “Thank-you.” Article content
St. John’s court hears details of how Markus Hicks used fake SnapChat accounts to lure, sexually assault boys, young men
