Youth sentenced for child sex abuse images

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This article was published 20/02/2022 (1210 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A teenager from the RM of Hanover who uploaded images of child sexual abuse to Instagram, and kept a cache of images and video, was sentenced to probation and community service last Thursday in Steinbach provincial court.

The male, now an adult, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. His identity is protected by the Youth Criminal Justice Act because he was a minor when the offence occurred.

Judge Larry Allen imposed 18 months of probation, 50 hours of community service, and a long list of conditions. The male must complete sex offender therapy, attend school or work regularly, and refrain from viewing all forms of pornography.

He must also not possess more than one cell phone and computer and must allow his probation officer or police to inspect them at any time. He was also prohibited from being around children under the age of 14 without a responsible adult present.

Lawyers involved in the case said the male would have gone to jail if he had been an adult at the time of arrest.

“I’m really sorry and it won’t ever happen again,” the male said in court.

On Jan. 30, 2021, the RCMP’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit received an investigative package from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre in Ottawa regarding an Instagram user who had uploaded images of child sexual abuse from an IP address in Manitoba earlier that month.

The images depicted females between the ages of six and 10 posing without clothing from the waist down.

Using customer records from an internet service provider, RCMP traced the uploads to a family home in the RM of Hanover. During a Feb. 4, 2021 search of the home, police seized electronic devices and an online file-sharing account that both contained images of child sexual abuse. They arrested the youth, who confessed the accounts were his and provided the passwords.

On one device, police found 50 unique images and four unique videos depicting child sexual abuse. The material showed children as young as two years old engaged in sexual activity alone, with adults, and with other children. One video was shot in a changeroom.

In the online file-sharing account, police found a further 21 unique images plus 117 unique video clips adding up to more than four hours of footage.

Crown attorney Singh said the files were downloaded from the internet and did not depict people from the community. He credited the youth for accepting responsibility and volunteering his account passwords.

Defence lawyer Adam Hodge said his client was “quite remorseful” and had already completed counselling. A report from the counsellor was cited in court.

Hodge said his client was a shy and somewhat socially isolated boy who had a relatively unremarkable upbringing in a religious household.

“Sex and sexuality was not something that was discussed too often in the home growing up,” Hodge said.

Since the arrest, Hodge said his client had finished high school, held down a job, and gained more self-awareness.

The male’s parents said they felt terrible about the ordeal and continue to support him in his transition into young adulthood.

“This has been a year of growth for you,” Judge Allen said.

“Our actions have consequences for other people. These are little kids who are being manipulated and abused.”

“So remember that by accessing it, you’re enabling this horrible kind of abuse to happen to these people and these little children.”