Alysa Holmes

The offender was found guilty of unauthorized use of a computer, possession of forged documents, and breach of probation after purchasing over 14,000 stolen credentials on the Genesis Market and possessing four fake IDs while on probation for similar offences.

The Crown sought a sentence of two years less a day, while the defence sought a suspended sentence or conditional sentence.

The court emphasized denunciation and deterrence, noting the sophisticated and pernicious nature of cyber fraud and the offender's prior record for similar offences.

The court rejected a conditional sentence, finding it insufficient to meet sentencing objectives, and imposed a total sentence of 23 months' imprisonment followed by two years' probation.

The accused, who was convicted following a French-language trial, applied for a stay of proceedings alleging violations of his language rights under section 14 of the Charter and sections 530 and 530.1 of the Criminal Code.

He argued that the occasional use of English by the judge and prosecutor, the quality of the English-to-French interpretation, and the inclusion of English quotations in the written judgment infringed his rights.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the interpretation was of high quality, minor errors were corrected in real-time, and the accused's ability to understand the proceedings and make full answer and defence was not compromised.