A B.C. man who admitted to police he was aroused by youngster pornography present in his dwelling however later denied sexual curiosity in kids, will serve his sentence at dwelling, partly because of the “comparatively modest measurement” of his stash — six pictures.
Such was the ruling from provincial courtroom Decide Andrew Tam in Kelowna, who handed down a conditional sentence of two years much less a day to Mark Keenan in
“Though there isn’t any strict mathematical relationship between the scale of the gathering and the size (or certainly sort) of sentence, the scale of a group has usually been held to be an aggravating issue, “ Tam wrote.
“It stands to purpose, then, {that a} modest assortment, whereas not a mitigating issue, may nonetheless distinguish it from different circumstances.”
Keenan, 54, pleaded responsible to at least one depend every of possession of kid pornography and distribution of the identical, offences for which he was first arrested in September 2018 after somebody alerted the Nationwide Centre for Lacking and Exploited Kids (NCMEC) about his account.
The RCMP obtained a search warrant and located the six pictures assembly the definition of kid pornography on one in all his gadgets.
Forensic investigations additionally uncovered communication between Keenan and different customers, largely adults however together with one who recognized as a 15-year-old boy, by which he mentioned sexual actions with kids and the alternate of pictures.
Keenan insisted at his sentencing listening to in March that he had “no sexual curiosity in kids” and that he occurred upon the pictures whereas trying to find seaside and sundown pictures.
So appalled on the sight of kid pornography, Keenan, in each an announcement to police upon his arrest and once more at his listening to, maintained he discovered the pictures in September 2017 and was utilizing them to run his personal “undercover sting” to catch pedophiles on Tumblr so he may get them banned.
Tam rejected the thought the offences had been carried out “for the general public good” and famous Keenan, in his assertion to police, supplied “essentially the most damning proof.”
When requested by officers if he was aroused by the pictures he replied, “I imply, in a approach, it’s exhausting to not be.”
Aside from that admission, Tam cited a number of causes for dismissing Kennan’s assertion on the steadiness of possibilities,
He first pointed to the messages, by which Keenan supplied “intensive and detailed” perception into his sexual pursuits with kids. The choose known as the exchanges “unnecessarily graphic” for somebody solely making an attempt to snag a predator and questioned why they went on lengthy after ample proof had been acquired.
“His participation in these conversations appears too genuinely earnest for it to be a ruse,” Tam wrote.
That Keenan accepted one particular person’s declare to be a minor, and that he nonetheless selected to alternate pictures of their respective genitalia, additionally didn’t bolster his “sting operation” defence.
“Sending a photograph of his personal penis, and asking for a photograph of the penis of somebody who’s ostensibly 15 don’t serve that objective,” the choose determined.
Tam additionally couldn’t settle for that reasoning as a result of Keenan stored the six unique pictures and carried out his operation for a yr. Doing so, the choose mentioned, resulted in what Keenan sought to snuff out — “the proliferation of kid pornography on the positioning.”
Whereas the undercover operation actually wasn’t a “mitigating issue,” Tam highlighted others that led him to ship the conditional sentence versus time behind bars.
He mentioned Keenan is a gainfully employed group member with a common-law accomplice of 12 years from whom the choose notes “he nonetheless enjoys super assist” and who described him as “a real and loving individual with integrity.” He has no prison document, nor any historical past of psychological well being or substance points, and was cooperative with police from the outset.
He’s additionally been residing in the neighborhood for over six years with out incident.
Keenan, who’ll be within the DNA database for 5 years, will likely be on home arrest for the primary 18 months, with the rest spent on a 6 p.m. curfew. Twelve months of probation will comply with.
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