Man jailed six months for child porn on cellphone

Images of child pornography found on a cellphone have earned a Windsor man six months in jail. Michael Smith, 26, was caught during a sweep launched by Chatham-Kent police. Back in 2015, they learned images were being downloaded to an IP address linked to a home on Windsor Avenue. The information was passed on to Windsor police, who in April 2016 obtained a search warrant. Inside the home, they found a cellphone that contained 44 unique images of child pornography. Defence lawyer Neil Rooke said Smith had no explanation for having the images. Smith’s mother told him later that he had been sexually abused as a child by a babysitter, but Smith had no recollection of the incidents.

Smith, a carpenter’s apprentice, planned to plead guilty right from the time of his arrest, Rooke said, and has been undergoing counselling.

“If he continues with his counselling, I am confident that you will never see him before the courts again,” Rooke told Ontario court Justice Lloyd Dean.

Dean explained to Smith that sharing images of child pornography is not a victimless crime. “These types of images wouldn’t exist if children weren’t being harmed,” Dean said. “You need to understand that these are children being harmed physically and psychologically, and you shouldn’t be a part of it.”

After his release from jail, Smith will be on probation for three years. He can’t go near parks, schools, playgrounds, public swimming pools or other places where children can be found.

He’ll also be listed on the national sex offender registry.