Child porn case without precedent, says Crown

A P.E.I. man on his fourth offence involving child pornography in a case the Crown said was without precedent in Canada will be back in court next week for sentencing.

Clay James Meron, 48, appeared before Chief Judge Nancy Orr in provincial court in Charlottetown Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to making available child pornography.

Meron was supposed to be sentenced Wednesday, but Orr adjourned the matter, saying she wasn’t in a position to give a decision because she hadn’t had a chance to read previous court cases the Crown submitted that day.

In his submissions, Crown attorney Jeff MacDonald talked about the impact of child pornography.

“It shakes you to the core when you see it, and it’s difficult to unsee,” he said.

MacDonald said repeat offenders in child pornography cases are rare in Canada and Meron’s fourth offence was without precedent.

With the most recent offence, a search of Meron’s home found images showing infants’ genitals.

The police seized 19 devices, including computer equipment that was encrypted and they weren’t able to access.

A pre-sentence report showed Meron accepted no responsibility and had little insight into the harm child pornography causes victims and the community, MacDonald said.

He recommended a sentence of six years in prison.

Defence lawyer Brendan Hubley said Meron has an addiction to child pornography.

Meron’s previous conviction involved more than 200,000 images of child pornography and 160,000 images of child erotica.

There were also 500 videos of child pornography and child erotica.

Provincial court Judge Jeff Lantz sentenced him to four years in prison.

Hubley said the most recent case was different than Meron’s previous convictions because of the number of images involved.

Meron had 11 images that were on the low end of the scale for child pornography while one he uploaded was more serious, Hubley said.

The magnitude of the offence was a factor the court had to consider, Hubley said, and added it was important to keep in mind the facts of the case.

Hubley said Meron acknowledged it wasn’t a victimless crime and has done research into why he does what he does. A sentence of three to four years in prison would be appropriate, Hubley said.

Orr adjourned the matter until Oct. 10.