Former Sudbury reporter pleads guilty in child pornography case

Sudbury -

WARNING – Graphic details of online sexual child abuse material may be disturbing to some readers.

A former Sudbury reporter has pleaded guilty to one charge related to online child sexual abuse material during a virtual court hearing Tuesday morning, avoiding a trial.

Callam Senyk-O'Flanagan, known professionally as Callam Rodya, was 32-years-old when he was identified by Greater Sudbury Police Service after downloading online child sexual abuse material using a file-sharing site between Nov. 14, 2018, and Feb. 13, 2019, Assistant Crown Attorney Christina Croteau read as part of the agreed statement of facts in the case.

Det. Const. Chris Kerr was reviewing undercover software and found it had downloaded a video depicting child sexual abuse at 1:18 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2018. The internet provider complied with the police request to supply the address linked to the account to which Senyk-O'Flanagan was subscribed.

The disturbing video has been identified to be of a 10- to 12-year-old girl from the U.S. being filmed while her father raped her and is part of a known child sexual abuse video series.

Officers raided his apartment on Riverside Drive on Feb. 13, 2019, and located evidence on multiple electronic devices, including a laptop and several storage devices, as well as a small baggy of suspected cocaine.

Senyk-O'Flanagan was charged with several counts of possession of, accessing, and making available child pornography, and drug possession. He was released on bail shortly after his arrest. The drug possession charge was dropped this summer.

A forensic analysis of his electronic devices found the video file that had been uploaded to the file-sharing program found by police as well as a total of 464 images identified as child pornography.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 2.

Under Indecent Acts section 173.1 of Canada's Criminal Code, of which Senyk-O'Flanagan has pleaded guilty to, "everyone who wilfully does an indecent act in a public place in the presence of one or more persons, or in any place with intent to insult or offend any person, is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years; or is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction."

In the interim, an assessment will be done to determine if electronic monitoring will be available.

He is a former reporter with Sudbury.com and CTV Northern Ontario.