Jail sentence imposed
A third Cape Breton man charged in 2014 as part of a national RCMP investigation into child pornography was sentenced Friday to serve a 90-day jail sentence.
Jeffrery Alexander MacFadgen, 26, of Lynch Drive, was sentenced on a charge of possession of child pornography (two videos) that occurred in March 2014. A second charge of distributing child pornography was dismissed.
In addition to the jail sentence, which MacFadegn will be allowed to serve on weekends, he is also to complete an 18-month probation period and is banned from possessing weapons for 10 years. He will also be a registered sex offender for 10 years and is to supply a DNA sample to the national registry.
“The nature of the material he possessed was especially degrading and disgusting,” said provincial court Judge Peter Ross, in passing sentence.
“His possession and viewing does demonstrate that he was a willing consumer of such materials,” said the judge, adding a jail sentence was fit and appropriate in the case.
Ross said he believed while it was unlikely MacFadgen, a first time offender, would reoffend, a jail sentence would serve notice to others who access such materials online.
Among the conditions of his probation, MacFadgen is prohibited from accessing the Internet, except for employment purposes, and is not to attend areas where individuals under the age of 16 are likely to gather, parks, pools and playgrounds.
The three Cape Breton men were among 150 people from across Canada charged as a result of the four-month investigation in 2014 that resulted in the seizure of almost two million images and photos deemed to show children being exploited for sexual purposes.
One man was previously sentenced to a 10-month jail sentence, followed by two years probation after pleading guilty to possess of child pornography.
Police seized nearly 9,000 images and 233 videos from the man’s computer depicting teens in various state of undress and performing sexual acts.
The second accused was sentenced to a 90-day jail sentence after pleading guilty to a charge of possession of child pornography. He was found in possession of more than 1,200 unique images and 31 unique videos involving females who appeared to be under the age of 18.