Hickie noted that Jefferson admits to having an addiction to pornography for many years and he is currently very active in addiction services and receives counselling regularly through the Sun Country Health Region and his pastor. These images are being created for people who are downloading and requesting them," said Berra. "They are essentially depicting the most vulnerable of our society, those people who need protection. She noted one child was depicted in more than 150 different images.īerra said Jefferson's pre-sentence report described him referring to a "rush" he received by downloading illegal material. "That means over the course of an investigation, through international means, the child has been identified and we know who that child is." "Many of these images were also checked in the international child pornography database, and about half the collection is actually of what is called an identified victim," Berra told the court. She added that many of the images were of children who have since been identified. Berra noted many of the images were watermarked from LS Magazine, which features pornographic material prominently involving children. The investigation found 1,583 images on Jefferson's computer as well as a video file. As many of the images in Jefferson's possession were also images he was sharing via the peer-to-peer service, Benison considered the charges to stem from the same place.ĭuring the investigation into Jefferson's activity last January, authorities downloaded 90 complete files directly from Jefferson and the material was deemed child pornography.īerra noted the majority of the images depicted pre-pubescent girls between the ages of six and 12 but some depicted girls as young as three. Presiding Judge James Benison sided with the defence, noting that sentences should be served concurrently if the matters before the court are explicitly linked. While she requested the sentences be served consecutively, resulting in 18 months of jail, Jefferson's counsel David Hickie suggested the sentences be served at the same time as the charges are connected with one another. In Estevan Provincial Court on Monday, Crown prosecutor Loreley Berra outlined the proposed sentence for the Crown, calling for a mandatory minimum jail sentence of six months for the possession charge and 12 months for the charge of distributing the material.
Law enforcement became aware of the 34-year-old's collection after beginning a general investigation into activity on a peer-to-peer, file-sharing network. A local man received a 12-month jail sentence after police found an extensive collection of child pornography on his computer.īarry Earl Jefferson had previously pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography following his arrest on March 26.