Man sentenced to prison time in child porn case
It was the most disturbing find in aisle No. 3 at the Loblaws on Carling Avenue.
In the aisle with soda, chips and cookies, an overnight clerk found an unlocked cellphone, and in browsing through it with the hopes of finding its owner, the clerk came across an unsettling collection of child porn and reported it to his manager, who called the Ottawa police.
It was Christopher Alan Jones, 43, who left his cellphone behind on Jan. 17, 2018, and on Wednesday, he was sent to prison for possession of child porn and voyeurism.
In the voyeurism case, Jones was later caught secretly filming a young girl at the Carlingwood Mall food court in June 2018.
Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois, who found Jones guilty in November 2019 after trial, said it was clear the “total stranger” had targeted the girl for a sexual purpose, and did so while he was on bail conditions not to use phones.
The child porn seized from Jones's new phone included sexually-themed images of naked girls as young as five.
Jones was sentenced to prison for 31 months for child porn possession and voyeurism.
The case was investigated by Det. Henrick Casimir and prosecuted by assistant Crown attorney Sabrina Goldfarb.
Even after conviction, Jones maintained his innocence.
At his sentencing this week, the judge said:
“He maintains his innocence, as is his right to do so. However, from his comments when addressing the court, it appears he does not fully comprehend the scope of the offences of possession or accessing child pornography. Even though Mr. Jones is highly educated, he presents as socially awkward and undoubtedly in a stable but still fragile mental health state, steadily battling addiction, depression and anxiety,” the judge told court.
The court also heard from Jones's mother, Bonnie, who filed an affidavit saying her son's “daily existence has become characterized by agony, panic, fear and a total loss of self.
“This was exacerbated by the stigmatization of Chris … the public (social media) campaign to shame Chris,” the mom wrote in her affidavit.
Jones accessed child pornography before and after his arrest, while he was on bail conditions not to use phones or the internet.
After his prison sentence, Jones will be banned from any place children gather for 10 years. His DNA will also be filed in a national databank and he'll be on the sex-offender registry.