BY KEITH LACEY
A Sudbury man convicted of possessing images of ?girls engaged in vile and degrading sexual conduct? by male adult abusers was given a six-month jail sentence Monday.
Justice Guy Mahaffy said the community would be outraged and the administration of justice would be brought into disrepute if he didn't send Brian Yeomans, 49, to jail.
Yeomans pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after police raided his residence and found a computer hard drive with 300 images of children engaged in sexual acts.
In an earlier court appearance, it was revealed Yeomans' teenage son contacted police after finding the images on the computer.
Mahaffy made it clear during the sentencing hearing Yeomans had nothing to do with creating the images or distributing them to anyone else.
However, Mahaffy, who reluctantly viewed 20 images after assistant Crown attorney Len Walker and defence counsel Michael Barnett argued it was necessary to determine the appropriate sentence, called them vile, degrading and disgusting.
There was ?no doubt? the images involved real children being sexually abused by adult males, said Mahaffy.
Calling the images ?a crime in progress,? Mahaffy said one image in particular of a young girl who looked to be between age 9 and 11 being sexually abused was extremely offensive.
While the court can only punish offenders for crimes committed, Mahaffy said a recent high-profile case in Toronto makes it clear some people who get involved in looking at child pornography can end up committing horrific crimes.
Yeomans has said he's sorry and realizes what he did was wrong, but Mahaffy said from all the material presented to him in this case ?the overall impression is he's sorry about being caught.?
There's no evidence Yeomans has sought any legitimate treatment or counseling and this must also be considered when deciding the appropriate sentence, said Mahaffy.
After Yeomans is released from jail, he will be placed on probation for three years.
During that time he will have to report to a probation officer and take any counseling or treatment that is recommended. He's also not to have any access to a computer capable of downloading or viewing electronic images.
He is prohibited from being in the presence of anyone under age 16 unless with an adult over age 21 approved by his probation officer. He is to stay away from all areas where children regularly gather, including playgrounds, swimming pools, recreation centres and schoolyards.
He must also report to a sex offender registry with Greater Sudbury Police within three days of his release.
