Award-winning Regina writer jailed for child porn
Man gets 6 months for possession after alert from Google triggers investigation
A respected local writer and publisher was led away from a Regina courtroom in handcuffs this week after receiving a jail term for possessing child pornography.
At 64, Paul Wilson has been praised for his writing, winning the City of Regina Book Award and placing as a finalist in other competitions. A poet, editor and publisher, Wilson worked for years with the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild and has been active as a volunteer in the arts community. Until now, he did not have a criminal record.
But when members of the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit turned up at his door with a warrant in October 2017, Wilson was forced to acknowledge he had a problem.
In a lengthy letter he read at court this week, Wilson talked about how his life was badly affected by the loss of his wife two years ago to cancer. Struggling with depression, Wilson said he began to isolate himself.
“My arrest a year ago is an event I now see as a gift as it forced me to face my pain and grief and break through the anger, denial and delusion that had dominated my life,” he said.
In August 2017, Google alerted the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children about an uploaded image believed to fit the definition of child pornography. The matter was sent to the Saskatchewan ICE Unit, which launched an investigation that led to Wilson’s arrest.
Crown prosecutor Loreley Berra told the court a total of nine unique images and 13 videos were found that met the definition of child pornography. Some of the material appeared to be more voyeuristic in nature, showing clothed children in stores, while other material showed children in sexual situations.
Defence lawyer Robert Skinner said his client used his arrest as an opportunity to seek help, attending counselling and involving himself in an intensive recovery program. Wilson himself spoke about the steps he’s taken, crediting the group Circles of Support and Accountability for helping him deal with his problems.
Wilson expressed regret for his actions, acknowledging that while he didn’t directly harm children, his crime caused damage.
“I owe a lifelong amend to all children who have been or will become victims of sexual abuse and exploitation through child pornography,” he said. “I have done wrong by them and I take full responsibility ... There is no admission I can make that would be even close to being enough if I were not fully committed physically, emotionally and spiritually to take all appropriate actions, with all my effort, to create new directions in my life.”
Calling child pornography “abhorrent” and “repulsive,” Judge Murray Hinds agreed to impose the jointly requested six-month jail sentence. It will be followed by two years of probation, with conditions limiting Wilson’s access to computers and the internet and intended to help him come to terms with what led to his offending. He was also placed on the national sex offender registry for 10 years and will be under conditions limiting his access to children for five years.