Montreal actor pleads guilty to possessing child pornography

A Montreal actor known for roles in French-language television series and movies will have to serve at least one year behind bars following his guilty plea to possessing and accessing child pornography.

Paul Cagelet, 52, perhaps best known for his roles in the Radio Canada television series Cormoran, which originally aired during the early 1990s, and the 1993 film Matusalem, will be sentenced later this year. He also had roles in English language productions like I’m Not There, a 2007 film about Bob Dylan that starred several famous Hollywood actors. Cagelet also had a minor role in the children’s television series Are You Afraid of the Dark.

On Nov. 11, 2016, he was arrested by the Montreal police and charged with possessing, accessing and distributing child porn. When he appeared before Quebec Court Judge Julie Riendeau at the Montreal courthouse on Friday he pleaded guilty to possessing and accessing child porn, but the distribution charge was withdrawn.

Riendeau ordered that a presentencing report as well as a report by experts on sexual deviance be prepared before sentence arguments begin in the case in March. Cagelet was released on a bond after he was charged and was not detained following his guilty plea.

According to the Journal de Montréal, Cagelet downloaded the more than 38,000 photos and videos in his possession from a website based in the U.S. His activity on the file-sharing website caught the attention of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an organization based in the U.S. The group informed the RCMP and the case was turned over to the Montreal police.