The youth, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was a mere child when he first started to sneak on to the family computer while his parents were asleep.
Described in court as a very shy person with great social anxiety, the teen would struggle to get through each day at school before rushing home to get lost in a disturbing world.
“Essentially he has spent most of his time on the computer which we now know was so he could access child pornography,’’ says Chief Provincial Court Judge Nancy Orr.
Orr says the youth’s pre-sentence report shows a lack of insight into the harm of accessing and distributing child pornography.
She says the youth does not seem to appreciate that he was victimizing the children again through viewing and distributing the images.
Orr describes as a “matter of great concern’’ that the youth was aroused by images of children being sexually abused.
“Horrendous things,’’ Orr described some of the images.
The judge says a lot of work is needed in order for the youth to appreciate that he has been part of the problem.
Orr told the court if nobody viewed child pornography, there would be no demand to create the horrific images.
“The Internet is a wonderful thing on many occasions…but there is also a very dark side of it,’’ she says.
The youth has now been ordered to stay away from that dark side.
In addition to sentencing the teen to two years of probation – the maximum available – and ordering him to perform 50 hours of community service, Orr has prohibited him from possessing, accessing or viewing pornography in any form.
That means he may not possess or use any device or computer capable of accessing the Internet other than in school under the supervision of an adult who is aware of the court order.
“Any and all temptations have to be removed from you,’’ says Orr.
The youth must also provide a blood sample to be entered in the national DNA bank.
The youth’s lawyer says he is meeting with a psychologist, has supportive parents and has “a good prospect of rehabilitation.’’
