Kenneth Newell should be imprisoned for three years in a federal penitentiary for sharing thousands of child pornography images on the Internet, the Crown argued in court.
The 71-year-old Sault Ste. Marie man had a large collection — more than 4,000 images and videos — of child exploitation material, prosecutor Stuart Woods said.
"It's certainly a lengthy time in custody for a first-time offender but it reflects the seriousness of the offences" and his "high degree of moral culpability," he told the court during a sentencing hearing last week.
The nature of the offences are "inherently aggravating" and "contribute to a heinous industry centred around child sexual abuse," the assistant Crown attorney said.
Ontario Court Justice Romuald Kwolek found Newell guilty of making available child pornography and possession of child pornography on June 21.
The Crown called for a lesser concurrent sentence for the possession offence.
The convictions followed a four-day trial that took place in January, February and March of this year.
The offences occurred between Sept. 9, 2020 and Jan. 27, 2021.
During the trial, Kwolek heard testimony from two city police officers involved in the investigation.
Newell, who represented himself, called no evidence in his defence.
Police found evidence of child pornography on a computer and four other devices when officers executed a search warrant at his apartment in January 2021.
On Wednesday, Woods noted that Newell not only possessed the images and videos, but shared them on the Internet, making them accessible to anyone savvy enough to download them from a peer-to-peer sharing program.
He did that over a period of time, Woods said, adding some of the materials had been accessed as far back as 2015.
The images and videos showed young girls ranging from six to 15 years old.
They not only involved nudity and sexual activity, but a few included bestiality, the Crown said.
Pointing to the court-ordered pre-sentence report, he told Kwolek there was "no expression of remorse" from Newell.
He showed "no insight into his offending conduct and the impact on the victims."
As well, there was no indication that Newell would't re-offend, and there were no guilty pleas, Woods said.
Newell is 71 and has no criminal record, but beyond that "there are very few mitigating factors here."
Newell had little to say when the judge asked him about sentencing.
He seemed to question what the Crown had said about the lack of remorse, indicating he had gone to trial because "I wanted to defend myself."
Kwolek asked if there was anything in the PSR he wanted to correct. Newell responded: "I don't think so."
The judge will render his decision on Sept. 13.
In addition to the prison term, the Crown is seeking a DNA order and imposition of a 20-year Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) order.
As well, there should be an order prohibiting Newell from attending numerous places, such as public parks and swimming areas, school yards, playgrounds, daycare centres or community centres, where there are persons under the age of 16.
The Crown also called for restrictions on his access to the Internet and other digital networks.