The first person to face criminal prosecution in Canada for sex tourism crimes has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Donald Bakker, 41, was charged under Canada's so-called sex-tourism law. He pleaded guilty in a Vancouver courtroom on Wednesday.

Thursday's sentence was based on a joint submission between the Crown and Bakker's lawyer. Bakker has been in custody for 18 months. Since that time counts for double, his effective sentence is seven years in prison.

Three of the guilty pleas involved attacks on adult prostitutes in British Columbia, with the other seven involving children in a foreign country.

The foreign country's name, plus the details of the alleged crimes, are subject to a publication ban.

Bakker, a former employee of Vancouver's Pan Pacific Hotel, had been facing a total of 38 charges.

The father of one was arrested in December 2003, after a prostitute ran screaming from the bushes as Bakker followed with a bag containing a video camera and other equipment.

The case has been called precedent-setting, as it was the first chance for a court to test the section of the Criminal Code that was amended to allow for the prosecution of Canadians who sexually abuse children while overseas.

Enacted in June 2002, the law gives the Crown authority to prosecute sex offences committed abroad, regardless of the foreign jurisdiction's own laws or attitudes.

Canada is one of more than 60 countries worldwide with laws aimed at eradicating child-sex tourism. About half of those countries have laws that specifically target extraterritorial offences.

With files from The Canadian Press