Sault senior sentenced to 30 months in jail in child porn case
A 71-year-old man from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., found guilty of having and making available child pornography to others, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Kenneth Newell represented himself in a trial that took four days over several months earlier this year.
Justice Romuald Kwolek found him guilty in June and released the reasons for sentencing Sept. 13.
More than 4,300 files containing online child sexual abuse material were found by detectives connected to Kenneth Newell's IP address in 2020, court documents obtained by CTV News said.
Police underwent a four-month investigation from September 2020 to January 2021 which resulted in the search of Newell's apartment on Jan. 27, 2021.
Officers seized 13 devices found in his living room and five of them had either accessible or inaccessible online child sexual abuse material files.
"Many of these images had hashtags for child pornography … and involved scantily clad girls in sexually provocative poses 6-12 years of age," a court document about the case said.
"The majority of those files had names associated to common child pornography terms such as PTHC (pre-teen hardcore) 11yo, 7 yo."
While many of the files found on Newell's devices had been deleted, many were accessible with links to child pornographic materials.
"The child pornography files on the various devices were accessed on multiple occasions over a number of years," the court document said.
"In this case, the forensic analyst found 192 accessible and 7,294 inaccessible child pornography images and 52 accessible and 275 inaccessible child pornography videos on the devices seized.
During the trial, Newell maintained the child pornography was "not intentionally downloaded."
- Download the CTV News app now and get local alerts on your device
- Get local breaking news and updates sent to your email inbox
- Want more local news? Check out the Sault Ste. Marie page
Taking his age, mental and physical health issues and his lack of a criminal record into consideration, the judge reduced the sentence from three years to two and a half for making child pornography available.
A second 24-month sentence will be served concurrently for the possession of child pornography charge.
Due to Newell's limited income, he will not have to pay a victim surcharge.
He is ordered to forfeit all devices where the child sexual abuse material was found, submit a DNA sample and will be listed on the national sex offender registry.
RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES
There are many organizations in Canada working to fight online child sexual exploitation. Find resources here.
These are some signs that a child is maybe being targeted:
- Talks about a new friend you haven't heard of before
- Are very focused on spending more time online
- Have new things you didn't get them (e.g. gifts, devices, video games, new apps or video game upgrades)
- Are more secretive than usual when you are around
- Uses sexual language they haven't before
- Are more fragile, moody or troubled than usual (even for a teenager)
- Isolates themselves in certain locations in the home more than they would normally (e.g. the bedroom or the bathroom)
- Complains of stomach aches, headaches and trouble sleeping
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From AI running wild to collapsing ecosystems, government report outlines future disruptions
From artificial intelligence running wild to collapsing ecosystems, a new Canadian government report outlines 35 disruptions that could rattle the country in the near future.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Toronto Blue Jays fan struck by 110 m.p.h foul ball offered tickets, signed baseball by team
The Toronto Blue Jays have offered tickets and a signed baseball to a fan who says she was struck in the face by a 110 m.p.h (177 km/h) foul ball at Friday’s game.
Matthew Perry's death is being investigated over ketamine level found in actor's blood, reports say
An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled a contributing factor in his death.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
Police in Ontario say suspects charged in armed home invasion near Toronto part of 'larger criminal network'
Police in Ontario say a group of suspects charged in an armed home invasion north of Toronto last year were driving a vehicle stolen in a carjacking in Calgary just one month earlier.
Stolen septic truck swerves through traffic, spike belt needed to stop it: Manitoba RCMP
A 29-year-old woman has been charged after police say she stole a septic truck from a Manitoba community and drove erratically on the highway.
Orphan orca's extended family spotted off northeast side of Vancouver Island
Members of a killer whale pod related to an orphan orca calf that escaped a remote British Columbia tidal lagoon last month have been spotted off the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.