Camp counsellor filmed girl changing
Offender, 17 at the time, avoids custody because of steps he has taken toward rehabilitation
KITCHENER — A camp counsellor who secretly filmed a naked 10year-old girl in a cabin at the camp was sentenced to two years of probation on Thursday.
The male counsellor, 17 at the time, also downloaded and uploaded explicit child pornography, including an image of a two-year-old girl. He did not upload the video of the camper.
Now an adult, the former counsellor pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and voyeurism. He was sentenced as a youth.
“This is a very serious set of offences, in part because it involves breach of trust and involves the creation of material that did not exist before you decided to turn on your camera,” Justice Craig Parry said in Kitchener court.
“Fortunately, that material did not get disseminated at large through the internet ... But it also did involve access to material on the internet that will live in perpetuity much to the horror no doubt of the victims of that material.”
The man can’t be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Some information is being withheld to protect his identity.
He was in a room in a cabin at the camp when he filmed the girl in another room changing her clothes. At one point she was naked.
A search of his phone found 1,311 child pornography images and four videos, including the video of the camper.
Crown prosecutor Cynthia Jennison had previously been seeking custody but agreed to probation because the man has taken steps toward rehabilitation. A report found he is at a low risk to reoffend, defence lawyer Bruce Ritter said. The man, who has no prior record, apologized in a letter to the court.
“You have done considerable work and made considerable strides ... at gaining insight into your conduct, gaining an understanding of the harm caused by your conduct, gaining an understanding of the inappropriateness of these types of images and videos ...” the judge said.
As a teen, he likely did not fully appreciate the significance of his actions, Parry said.
“The Youth Criminal Justice Act recognizes that on account of your reduced maturity and sophistication, we ought to hold you accountable differently than we would an adult,” he said.
If he was an adult when he committed the crimes, he probably would have been sent to jail.
“As the internet has evolved, there has been an explosion of unlawful materials on the internet and an exponential increase in the number of victims,” Parry said.
“As a result, we have seen courts more and more recognize the pervasiveness of this societal problem. Courts have been imposing harsher and harsher sentences and what might have been for an adult an appropriate 90-day sentence 25 years ago is now a case that might invoke the consideration of a two-year sentence.”
The man can have no contact with anyone under 16. He must stay away from parks, swimming pools and playgrounds. He can’t work or volunteer in a position of trust with anyone under 16. He can’t use file-sharing networks. He must take counselling.
Parry warned him if he breaks a probation term, he will be sentenced as an adult for the breach.
“Worse, if you were to commit a breach of probation in the next two years, it would occur before your youth record has been expunged and so you will effectively have grandfathered your youth record into your adult record, thus putting some rather nasty offences on your adult record. Clearly something you do not want to do.”