SELECTED CASE LAW
MANITOBA:
In 2015 MBCA 103, affirmed the conviction of Mr. M. The accused, a 40-year-old man, pleaded guilty to making and possessing child pornography, sexual interference, voyeurism, and criminal harassment. An allegation of industrial espionage led to the police searching his computer and discovering 6,935 unique images of child pornography and 134 unique videos of child pornography of girls aged eight and thirteen-years-old. Some of the videos he made himself, surreptitiously recording the genitalia of his two twin eight-year-old daughters and their friend while they were in the bathroom. Other images were altered to make it appear as if his friend’s pre-pubescent daughter was performing sexual acts on him. Other photos and videos included acts of sexual interference with one of the victims. The computer also contained information related to the accused’s historic sexual interference of his friend’s daughter when she was eight years old and one of his daughter’s friends.
The accused also surreptitiously filmed sexual acts between himself and his girlfriend. His girl-friend ended their relationship upon the discovery of the videos and his child pornography. The accused “then began to incessantly contact her and follow her, despite her moving residences”. He was later arrested in her apartment and charged with criminal harassment.
He also failed to comply with an undertaking when the police found photos of nude or partially nude photos on his iPad, which he was prohibited from possessing at the time. He also failed to comply with a recognizance that prohibited contact with his ex-girlfriend and his access to the internet when he sent her three emails.
The trial judge sentenced him to a combined total of 105 months incarceration. On appeal, the judge ordered some of his sentence be served concurrently, not consecutively, and his global sentence was reduced to 87 months. In deciding this the judge stated:
The judge properly recognized the seriousness of the crime of making child pornography. Victims are harmed not only by the initial production of the child pornography, but also perpetually if the material is made available or distributed. Once on the Internet, sexually explicit material is impossible to eradicate and will be used by other offenders domestically and internationally for the purposes of sexual gratification or to exploit other children. Sentences accordingly must be severe for making child pornography to reflect the gravity of this pernicious crime.[1]
However, the judge also noted that the accused did not solicit sexual acts from the children nor make the pornography he made available to others. He was sentenced to 8 years and 9 months of incarceration, and ordered to provide a DNA sample, comply with the sex-offender registration for 20 years, not be near places with children, placed on the Child Abuse Registry, and to not possess firearms.
Also see: 2014 MBPC 57 (Sentencing).
[1] 2015 MBCA 103 at para 14.