A 71-year-old Sault Ste. Marie man faces 30 months behind bars in a federal penitentiary for sharing a "significant number" of child pornography files on the Internet.
Kenneth Newell was sentenced to the prison term last Wednesday after being convicted in June of one count of making available child pornography.
Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek also imposed a two-year concurrent period of incarceration for possession of child pornography.
The offences occurred between Sept. 9, 2020 and Jan. 27, 2021.
Kwolek found him guilty of the charges on June 21 following a four-day trial that took place in January, February and March of this year.
Prosecutor Stuart Woods had called for a three-year penitentiary sentence during an August sentencing hearing.
"It's certainly a lengthy time in custody for a first-time offender but it reflects the seriousness of the offences" and "his high degree of moral culpability."
Newell had a large collection — more than 4,000 images and videos — of child exploitation material, the assistant Crown attorney said.
The accused, who represented himself at the trial and sentencing hearing, maintained that the child pornography was not intentionally downloaded.
City police found evidence of child pornography on a computer and four other devices when officers, armed with a search warrant, showed up at Newell's apartment in January 2021.
Newell possessed and shared a significant number of files, Kwolek said, when he imposed the sentence.
An officer involved in the investigation described most of the images as modelling pictures of young girls, under the age of 10, posing in lingerie and in a sexual manner.
The majority of videos were of young teenaged girls, most aged 12 to 14, involved in sexual activity.
In his 13-page written decision, Kwolek cited three aggravating factors: the seriousness of the two offences that normally would require a significant period of incarceration; the significant number of files made available through a file-sharing software platform; and the fact that child pornography involves the re-victimization of children under 18 — a statutorily aggravating factor.
In this case, some reduction of the proposed three-year period is warranted because of Newell's lack of a criminal record, his advanced age, mental and physical health issues, and the nature of the child pornography images he shared and possessed, Kwolek said.
"There is evidence that the offender suffers from mental health issues which would affect his moral culpability."
The Supreme Court of Canada has directed that denunciation and general deterrence should be the primary focus for child pornography offences, he noted.
After considering all of the aggravating and mitigating offences, and Newell's circumstances, the judge decided a global sentence of 30 months is appropriate.
Kwolek ordered that all the devices on which police found child pornography be forfeited to the Crown.
Newell must provide a DNA sample for the national database.
The judge also imposed a mandatory 20-year Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) order.
As well, Newell is prohibited for 10 years from attending numerous places, such as public parks and swimming areas, school yards, playgrounds, and daycare centres, where there are young people under the age of 16.
This order also places seven restrictions on his access to the Internet and devices.