An Estevan man received a seven-month jail term on Monday for possessing child pornography.
Bernard Sterling was arrested in March 2009 as part of a nationwide investigation involving law enforcement agencies at several levels. Late last year he pleaded guilty to possessing the illegal material and was in court to argue sentence.
Judge James Benison presided over the sentencing hearing and noted the amount of pornography found in Sterling's possession to be of particular concern.
"An aggravating factor is the substantial amount (of material), as well as the degrading and disgusting nature of the videos," he said.
Mitigating factors he said were Sterling's admission of guilt and the fact that he has no previous criminal record. The minimum sentence with the Crown proceeding by indictment is 45 days in jail, but Benison added that "because of the volume and vile nature ... I must sentence you to more."
Benison said it is the young people who were the subjects of the videos who are the victims of his actions.
"Society must do what it can to protect these children," added Benison.
After Sterling is released, he will be under probation for three years. Conditions during his probation are that he not access the Internet from a computer or any other device in his home, he not possess a computer, he take any counselling or treatment, submit to a search of his person or residence, provide a DNA sample and register for the Sex Offender Registry, which he will remain on for 10 years.
Crown prosecutor Roger DeCorby made an application to Benison before proceedings began, asking for the exclusion of the public from the hearing.
The request was made because of the "vile" nature of the evidence that would be presented during the sentencing hearing.
"It shows horrendous sexual abuse of very small children," he told Benison, and so the request was made in the interest of public morals. For the sentencing hearing, there was going to be evidence presented in the form of videos and images that were found in Sterling's possession. Two members of the Integrated Child Exploitation Unit were present to set up monitors in the court room.
Benison said the application took him by surprise and adjourned briefly before coming to a decision. When he returned, he asked Sterling if he took any stance on the issue, and he said he did not. Benison accepted the application and the court room was cleared.
The charges were laid against Sterling following the execution of Operation SALVO, which led to the arrest of 57 individuals from across Canada. The ICE Unit conducted the investigation in Saskatchewan and was assisted by the Estevan Police Service during his arrest.
In other court proceedings on Monday, Michael Baguma pleaded guilty to trafficking ecstasy. Federal Crown prosecutor Stephen Dribnenki told the court that two undercover officers approached Baguma in a local bar on April 29, 2011 asking if he could sell them marijuana. He didn't have as much as the officers wanted, so he told them he could sell them ecstasy. He sold them 10 pills for $200, and the officers called him again a few weeks later and bought another six pills for $100.
A joint submission was presented to the judge by the Crown and defence for a 20-month conditional sentence. Baguma's conditions are that he pay a $1,500 fine, remain in Alberta where he lives in Calgary, remain under a curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., submit to a search of his residence not more than three times per month and he is subject to a 10-year firearms prohibition.
Benison noted that a typical sentence for these crimes would be a term of incarceration, but would accept the submissions. He reminded Baguma that with this sentence, he is serving a jail term in the community and that if he breaches a condition he is likely to serve the remainder of his sentence in jail.
