A Kingston man convicted of luring young girls to perform sexual acts for him in front of their webcams has been released after completing his three-year sentence.

Mark Gary Bedford, 26, blackmailed more than 40 young girls from across Canada, and as far away as England, to engage in degrading sexual acts for him online.

While pretending to be a young girl, Bedford would engage his victims in friendly conversations before getting them to do something embarrassing in front of their webcams.

He would take pictures of the compromising acts and use the images to coerce the girls to do even more sexually explicit deeds.

Bedford was initially facing up to 72 counts but he struck a plea deal that awarded him a minimal sentence of three years.

Police say there are concerned about Bedford's likelihood of offending again.