‘I never want to be in this predicament again,’ man awaiting child-porn sentence tells judge

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This article was published 15/01/2018 (2285 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 53-year-old mechanic who got a police officer friend to testify at his child pornography trial awaits his sentence in the Court of Queen’s Bench.

The man can’t be named to protect the identities of his former foster daughters, who accused him of secretly filming them in the shower. Justice Sadie Bond acquitted him on charges of making child pornography and voyeurism, finding there was reasonable doubt that the incident happened. But the girls’ complaint in April 2013 led police to search the man’s garage, where they found torn-up photos of naked children and a laptop that contained more than 800 images of child pornography.

Nearly five years later, the West St. Paul auto mechanic faces jail time as Bond considers the appropriate sentence for two convictions of possessing child pornography. The Crown is seeking a one-year sentence and the defence asked for six months. In 2013, the mandatory minimum sentence for each count of possession of child pornography was six months. It’s since been raised to 12 months.

One of the printed photos police found was an image of the man’s 12-year-old foster daughter in a provocative pose, covering her chest with her arm. Court heard the girl had been disciplined for taking the topless selfie to send to a boy. When he testified in his own defence at his trial, the man said he was keeping the photo as proof of her misbehaviour, but the judge didn’t believe him.

In a pre-sentence report, the man said friends would gather at his garage every Wednesday and take turns watching pornography on his computer.

The accused has no previous criminal record. He told Bond Tuesday the crime doesn’t reflect who he is as a person, and he expressed regret at having his four foster children taken from him and his wife in the wake of the police investigation. Two girls, 12 and 13, and two younger boys were fostered by the couple prior to the man’s arrest. He said he worries the boys feel abandoned by him.

“That’s something I’m living with every day. I raised these kids for three years as my own. I feel like I’ve been punished a lot,” he said.

“I welcome any therapy or sessions with counselling that the court could provide. I look forward to it to make sure I’m never in this predicament again. I never want to be in this predicament again. I know I’m not a harm to anybody and I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that with counselling.”

During his trial last year, court heard from a 28-year member of the Winnipeg Police Service who testified for the defence. He supported the accused’s assertion that the photos police found — torn up and soaking in an oil pan before he could burn them — did not belong to him. The accused claimed he found a folder of photos in a used car he bought at an auction more than 10 years earlier. He claimed he discussed them with a police officer who has since died.

In testimony Bond rejected as being “unbelievable,” the accused’s police officer friend — a longtime customer at his auto shop — backed up the story by telling court he remembered having a conversation in 2007 or 2008 about the photo discovery with his now-deceased colleague. The officer worked in WPS child-abuse unit at the time and claimed to have a detailed memory about the conversation, even though he didn’t take any notes.

The officer claimed he told his colleague to report the photos to the RCMP and thought he would “look after it.”

When she delivered her decision last summer, Bond said she didn’t know why the officer would lie, other than being friends with the accused.

Asked whether the officer was disciplined as a result of his court testimony, a spokeswoman for the Winnipeg Police Service said the department can’t comment on disciplinary matters. She confirmed Tuesday that the officer is still employed by the police force.

Bond is scheduled to sentence the accused next month.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay