In this sentencing decision for possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material, the court applied the post-Friesen and Pike framework emphasizing denunciation and deterrence and an elevated range of up to five years on indictment.
The court found the collection’s extraordinary size, high video volume, and severe content placed offence gravity near the highest end, while recognizing mitigating factors including a guilty plea, remorse, first-offender status, and some increased custodial onerousness linked to mental disorder.
The court rejected a conditional sentence, holding the personal and medical circumstances were not sufficiently compelling to render incarceration disproportionate in light of the offence’s harms and Parliament’s sentencing direction.
Applying restraint within that framework, the court imposed a 28-month custodial sentence.
