Man gets prison for child porn

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on June 5, 2024.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Coalhurst man has been sent to prison for three years after being caught with thousands of images and videos of child pornography.

Christopher William Jenkins was sentenced Tuesday in Lethbridge court of justice, where he pleaded guilty to charges of possessing and distributing child pornography.

During a search of Jenkin’s residence in April of last year, investigators checked 19 electronic devices, and found child pornography on two of them.

A laptop computer contained 6,174 images and 2,175 videos of child pornography, while a separate hard drive contained 1,391 images and 6,970 videos.

The images included bondage, beastiality, feces and urination, rape, and pain and injury on victims as young as infants and toddlers, said Crown Prosecutor Richelle Freiheit.

“Christopher Jenkins admits he did distribute and possess child pornography in April, 2023, and had started about a year prior,” Freiheit said, reading from an agreed statement of facts. “He has no lawful excuse.”

Frieheit called the images “somewhat troubling and damaging to look at.”

Authorities started investigating Jenkins after a police detective began looking into online sharing of child pornography on a peer-to-peer sharing network. During the investigation he came across a specific user in the process of making child pornography files available. The officer ultimately connected the pornography to Jenkins.

Officers went to Jenkin’s home on April 26, 2023, but were told by his girlfriend, who didn’t have any knowledge of the child pornography, that Jenkins was at work. Jenkins was arrested and admitted to having a pornography addiction and to downloading child pornography.

“Mr. Jenkins’ collection is egregious, and is at the more serious end of the scale,” Freiheit said. “That being said, he was incredibly cooperative with the police, confessed immediately and provided his passwords. So while the child pornography offences are serious, he has taken responsibility and we are here today because of that.

Lethbridge lawyer Darcy Shurtz confirmed that his client is “truly remorseful” and has taken steps on his own to receive addiction counselling, which he will continue while serving his penitentiary sentence.

Justice Paul Pharo accepted the Crown and defence joint recommendation for a three-year prison term, and expressed his concern about the serious nature of the offences.

“These are very serious offences,” Pharo said. “Possession and distribution of child pornography is not a victimless crime. Possession and distribution of child pornography creates a market for this kind of material, and therefore leads more children to be in harm’s way.”

In addition to his prison sentence, Jenkins must submit a sample of his DNA for the National DNA Data Bank, and he must register with the Sex Offender Information Registry for 20 years. He will also be prohibited for eight years after he is released from attending areas where persons under the age of 16 are present or can reasonably be expected to be present, unless he is sober and other sober adults are present. He is also prohibited from seeking or obtaining employment or volunteering in a capacity that involves a position of trust or authority toward a person 16 years of age or under.