Former Sudbury reporter pleads guilty in child pornography case
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.