A former school teacher has pleaded guilty to 20 charges in a child luring and pornography case on Wednesday.

Police were able to identify 58 of Victor Ly’s victims in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. Court heard that there could have been as many as 171.

The youngest victim was seven years old.

Ly, a former private school teacher in Waterloo and Halton regions, pleaded guilty to numerous charges.

Testimony alleges that Ly used an alias to seek out girls on social media before convincing them to take explicit pictures and videos of themselves. He then stored them on multiple cellphones.

Some of the victims were his students.

Ly addressed the court saying that he was working toward rehabilitation, admitting he has a sickness. He apologized to the victims.

The schools at which Ly taught were under a publication ban to protect the identity of his victims.

The Crown is seeking a nine-year sentence, while the defence is asking for three.

A decision is to be made on March 1.