Saskatoon man’s child porn collection is among the worst authorities have seen

WARNING: Some people may find some of the contents of this story disturbing.

The decision of a 27-year-old Saskatoon man to plead guilty to 42 child pornography-related charges Friday is a “no brainer” according to his defence lawyer.

Shane Dale Pattison’s charges related to roughly 4,000 unique child porn images and videos. He admitted to sharing 267 of the images on a social media chat app.

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“This is as overwhelming of a case in terms of evidence as you’ll find,” defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle said to reporters out of court Friday morning.

Pattison was convicted of 53 child porn offences in 2012 and was sentence to five years in custody, but was released under a number of conditions in September of 2015.

According to submitted details of his offending, Pattison began sharing child porn just weeks after he was released.

“Mr. Pattison’s collection is among the worst I’ve ever seen,” Sgt. Darren Parisien, with Saskatchewan’s Integrated Child Exploitation Unit, said.

“There was a lot of material there very much geared toward torture and bondage and extreme violence towards very young children, as young as infants and toddlers.”

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Police have launched 1,357 investigations in Canada and the United States related to the distribution of child pornography due to Pattison’s illegal activity.

Authorities learned that Pattison was possibly breaching his parole conditions shortly after he was released in September 2015. He was placed under surveillance by police and eventually arrested in March 2016.

When officers arrived that day, they found Pattison on his bed, with a blanket partially over his legs, according to an agreed statement of facts that the Crown read out in court Friday.

In an interview he later gave to police, Pattison said it was a “safe assumption” that he was viewing child porn when he was arrested.

In the same interview, Pattison admitted that he can’t help himself if he has access to electronic devices with internet access. He told police that he didn’t receive treatment while in custody and was struggling since his release.

“He hasn’t been given the opportunity to participate in appropriate treatment for any issues that he may have and we’re hoping that in the next round that changes,” Pfefferle said.

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The Crown and defence will likely come to the judge with a joint submission that will result in Pattison receiving a seven-year penitentiary sentence, minus time already served on remand, according to Pfefferle.

He added that, if accepted by the judge, it would be the longest sentence ever presented in Saskatchewan in a child porn case that doesn’t include “hands on” offending.

“Much like his last sentence, this will be sort of a precedent setting sentence in the province,” Pfefferle said.

Before a sentencing decision is made, the Crown prosecutor’s office will have to determine if a dangerous offender application will be made against Pattison. A decision will likely be made at his next court appearance on July 19.