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
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to squash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.