15 months for child-porn ‘spectrum of depravity’

Warning: This story contains graphic details. A Langford man’s collection ofchild pornography images and spanking videos “traversed a spectrum of depravity,” a B.C. Supreme Court judge said Wednesday, as he sentenced him to 15 months.

“All of it triggers a certain visceral horror,” said Justice David Crossin.

Andre Mollon, 50, was convicted in December 2017 of possessing child pornography from December 2012 to July 2016, and of transmitting two childpornography images on April 10, 2016. He received a six-month concurrent sentence for the second offence.

West Shore RCMP executed a search warrant at Mollon’s residence on July 6, 2016, after receiving information from the B.C. Child Exploitation Unit. Officers seized a computer with two hard drives, two USB flash drives and optical discs.

A forensic examination of the devices turned up 1,600 images classified as child pornography. There were also 121 videos entered into evidence by the Crown showing children being spanked on the buttocks by an adult, either with an object or by hand. Seventy of these videos were classified as child pornography.

“The material ranges from images of prepubescent teens posing naked with exposed genitalia, to children of six or seven years of age performing fellatio on adult males, to a video of a baby girl, a few months old, being sexually abused by an adult person. … Much of the material is vile and highly disturbing,” Crossin said.

Mollon acquired and used the material for a number of years, said the judge. “It cannot be said the collection was modest.”

He operated in a virtual world that easily facilitated the collection and sharing of child pornography and compounded the sexual degradation and victimization of children, said Crossin.

When he was convicted of the two offences, the court ordered Mollon to participate in a presentence report, but Mollon failed to turn up.

A psychological assessment was prepared by Dr. Evan Lopes at the Surrey regional clinic of the Forensic Psychiatric Service Commission. He found that Mollon was not married, had no children and did not have a criminal record. Mollon was one of 12 children and told the psychologist he had an abusive childhood, suffering physically and emotionally at the hands of both parents.

Mollon left home at 20 and was diagnosed that same year with mild cerebral palsy. He completed high school and some business courses but has been unemployed for a decade.

Mollon refused to discuss the offences or his own sexual history with Lopes.

The psychologist was struck by Mollon’s lack of remorse and failure to see the connection between child pornography and the victimization of children. Although Lopes found Mollon to be at low risk to reoffend, he said he did not have enough information.

Lopes concluded Mollon has a pedophiliac deviant interest. He is not an unmanageable danger to the community, but needs to address his difficulties and should complete a sex-offender treatment program, he said.

Mollon has led an unproductive and solitary life, said the judge, who also pointed to Mollon’s lack of remorse and the fact he seems oblivious to the damage to the lives of children victimized by child pornography.

He needs treatment and hopefully will receive it, Crossin said.

Crown prosecutor Grahame Merke sought a two-year prison term, followed by three years of probation.

Defence lawyer Don McKay launched a successful constitutional challenge to the mandatory minimum six-month jail sentence for possession of child pornography and the mandatory minimum one-year jail sentence for transmission of child pornography.

Although the judge declared the mandatory minimum sentences unconstitutional, Crossin concluded it was not appropriate for Mollon to receive a sentence of less than six months for possessing child pornography.

Crossin struck down the oneyear sentence for transmitting child pornography and handed Mollon a six-month sentence to be served concurrently.

The sentences will be followed by three years of probation. During that time, Mollon must not go to parks or public swimming areas where those under the age of 18 years are present, or a daycare centre, school grounds, playground or community centre. He must have no contact or communication or be alone with anyone under the age of 18. He must not volunteer or work with anyone under the age of 18 without the written permission of his probation officer.

He must complete counselling as directed by his probation officer, which could include mental-health counselling and sexual-offence prevention.

Mollon is not allowed use any device capable of using the internet unless the history can be displayed, and he consents to the device being inspected by police or his probation officer. He must not delete the history from the device.

He has been ordered not to possess pornographic material and must give a sample of his DNA to the authorities.