SELECTED CASE LAW

ALBERTA:

2017 ABCA 212

In 2017 ABCA 212, the trial judge had found Mr. K, a 54-year-old man, guilty of possessing child pornography and failing to comply with his probation orders by accessing the internet, pornography, and possessing a device capable of accessing the internet. He was sentenced to 28 months in jail and three years’ probation. He appealed the conviction and sentence.

At trial, Mr. K was found guilty of possessing around 9,000 images of child pornography, some showing serious sexual abuse of children. His probation order prohibited him from accessing the internet. He was on probation for his offence when he was caught a second time in pos-session of child pornography, which consisted of a 128-page fictional story of the sexual abuse of a 6-year old boy that met the definition of child pornography. The court found Mr. K had been using the internet to engage in sexually explicit chatrooms.

The appeal of his conviction was dismissed. Mr. K unsuccessfully argued that his Charter rights to be protected from unlawful search and seizure were breached.

The appeal was allowed in part. The appeal court reduced the sentence to 15 months because the trial judge had not fairly considered the totality principle.

Also see: 2016 ABCA 364.

 

Criminal Offence(s): Child Pornography Offences