Crown calls for 25-year sentence in foster child sexual abuse case

A Crown prosecutor asked the court to impose a 25-year sentence on a Brandon man who made and distributed sexual videos and photos of his two young foster children.

The 38-year-old man — who lived in a residence where a home daycare was also operating — pleaded guilty in January to two counts each of sexual interference, making child sexual abuse material and distributing child sexual abuse material, along with a single count of possessing child sexual abuse material.

“The spectre of organized multi-victim abuse within the child-care setting has been a deep fear for a long time in the public mind. This case is that fear taking actual shape,” Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup said in Brandon provincial court on Tuesday.

The man’s lawyer, Jennifer Janssens, argued that a sentence in the range of 16 to 18 years would be more appropriate, citing his sincere remorse and that the time he has spent in custody has already had a strong impact on him due to the nature of his charges.

She also referenced comments made by Premier Wab Kinew, who last year denounced a Supreme Court of Canada ruling on child pornography, calling for offenders to be buried underneath prisons.

“The comments of our premier in relation to individuals engaging in these types of offences — inciting violence essentially in custody against these people — just increase the fear and the risk of danger,” Janssens said.

The victims’ identities are protected by a publication ban, which prohibits the publishing of any information that could identify them. The Sun is not naming the offender, as it could identify the child victims.

An agreed statement of facts filed in court when the man pleaded guilty to the charges outlined the offences.

Police arrested the man and seized his devices in February 2025. Police were provided with Telegram conversations between the man and an “unknown Norway user” during a period from August 2024 to January 2025.

In the conversations, the man self-identified as a “pedo” and “repeatedly indicated his enthusiasm for CSAM (child sexual abuse material) and child abuse, and discussing the sharing, viewing and receiving of CSAM from the other person in the said conversation,” the statement said.

The contents included material linked to two identified victims — a two-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy who were in his care.

Two nude photos of the girl were found on the man’s phone, along with more than 10 CSAM photos of her that he created and shared on Telegram. Police also retrieved two videos of the girl, which were sent to the man in Norway. The videos depict the man touching the naked baby’s genitalia and masturbating.

Police found one video of the boy, during which he was performing oral sex on the man.

In relation to the possessing CSAM charge, more than 100 videos of CSAM were retrieved from the man’s phone.

In addition to the videos of the two identified victims, the statement said 131 CSAM videos and two CSAM images of “adult sexual exploitation of unknown children were shared between (the offender) and an unknown person from Norway.”

Lonstrup said there are several aggravating factors, including that the victims were “extremely young,” Indigenous and wards of Child and Family Services.

“Both Indigenous children and wards of child protection agencies are grossly overrepresented in the victim count for this particular offending,” he said.

He said the offender’s breach of his position of trust and the severe level of sexual violation in both visual and written material are also aggravating factors.

Lonstrup said the case has caused “extreme upset and alarm in Brandon, and exponentially more upset to other parents who were clientele of this daycare.”

The man’s comments to police and a probation officer — that his offending was motivated by his desire to “catch” child sexual offenders — were not just self-serving but “positively ludicrous,” the Crown said.

Janssens said in the time period leading up to the offences, the offender was struggling as he had lost his marriage and job.

The lawyer emphasized that she wasn’t giving the court his background to excuse his behaviour, but instead to give context.

“It’s difficult sometimes in these serious offences where there is significant harm to the victims to remember that we are dealing with someone who will face these consequences for the rest of his life,” she said.

Janssens said her client was exposed to substance use and started drinking alcohol at a young age. His drinking and substance abuse began to become problematic in his adulthood and was a factor that led to his divorce and losing his job, court heard.

The man was exposed to sexual materials and pornography at a young age and also had very early sexual experiences, court heard.

“We know that children who are hurt by adults tend to become adults that may hurt children,” Janssens said.

She said he hasn’t had the opportunity to participate in any programming while in jail and is grateful that he will be going to the penitentiary so he can access programming “to rehabilitate himself and to understand this behaviour.”

The man has no prior criminal record, and this is his first time in custody, Janssens said. She added that due to the nature of his charges, he’s in a “dangerous situation.”

She said, when looking at the overall sentence, the court must consider that the man’s time in custody won’t be easy.

As for the man’s explanation that he was trying to catch child sex predators, Janssens said, “It belies belief.” However, she said those comments demonstrate that he understands the harm he caused and is trying to rationalize his behaviour.

She said he feels sincere guilt, shame and horror for his actions, and the plan has always been for him to take responsibility, despite possible charter issues related to how police obtained information.

He should receive immense credit for his guilty pleas, she said.

When given a chance to speak, the man apologized and said his actions were “inexcusable.”

“At this point I’m prepared to accept my sentence,” he said.

Judge Patrick Sullivan reserved his decision, and a date for him to deliver his decision hasn’t been set.

» sanderson@brandonsun.com