Former church youth leader Nathan Beadle mouthed a teary “I love you” to his wife Friday before beginning a 21-month jail term for luring a pre-teen on the Internet.

Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sandy Park agreed with Crown prosecutor Ivanna Perozak that jail was warranted for the Calgary man.

But Park said Beadle’s conduct didn’t require the two-and-a-half to three-year prison term the prosecutor was seeking on charges of Internet luring and accessing child pornography.

Beadle, 29, a former youth leader with the Salvation Army Church, wiped away tears as Park detailed his abusive behaviour towards his victim, then 12 years old.

Park noted Beadle fondled himself on web cam and convinced the girl, also a church member, to do the same.

He also sent her a photograph of his privates, which the girl’s mother discovered on her laptop in 2010 and called police.

Despite the victim following Beadle’s instructions to delete their online communications, forensic investigators were able to retrieve “sexually explicit chat logs,” Park noted.

“He admitted (to police) knowing the victim was 12 years old at the time,” the judge said.

Park agreed with Perozak the conduct was a serious breach of trust, as Beadle was able to gain access to the girl through his church work.

“A conditional sentence would not adequately address the principles of denunciation and deterrence,” Park said.

Throughout the judge’s ruling Beadle wiped away tears as he sat listening in the prisoner’s box, occasionally turning to a large group of supporters, including his parents and wife.

The courtroom was also packed with supporters of the victim, who wiped away her own tears after sentencing.