Pastor’s son jailed for child porn

A local pastor’s son, nabbed as a result of an FBI sting operation, was sentenced Thursday to six months in jail for possessing child pornography.

Omar Smith, 24, was himself a leader at Sandwich First Baptist Church where his father, who died last year, was a pastor. Ontario court heard Smith was the church pianist and volunteered with leadership camps for local youth.

Now, he is bound by a court order for five years not to work in any capacity with anyone under the age of 16, or attend any school, community centre, playground, public swimming area or any other place where children are usually found.

Smith was arrested in 2015 after Windsor police got a tip about him from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Smith was communicating over the Internet with an undercover agent, sharing a file containing child pornography. When Windsor police seized Smith’s computer, they found 344 images and 22 videos depicting child pornography.

Smith pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. Charges of accessing child pornography and making it available were withdrawn.

Smith had no prior criminal record.

Ontario court Justice Lloyd Dean sentenced Smith to two years of probation following jail. Dean also ordered Smith to provide a sample of his blood for the national DNA databank used by police to solve crime.

Smith will also be on the national sex offender registry for 10 years. Only accessible by police, the registry includes information about offenders’ addresses, employment and appearance. Sex offenders who do not provide up-to-date information to police can be prosecuted.

Defence lawyer Elizabeth Craig said Smith is a loving son who left school to help care for his dying father. He sought out sex offender counselling after his arrest and has the support of his family and church community, she said. Several members of Smith’s church attended court Thursday, wiping tears as he was led out of the courtroom to begin serving his sentence.