SASKATOON – A former Saskatoon real estate agent who admitted to having child pornography on his computer, including video of a toddler being tortured, has been sentenced to three years in prison. Paul Burke, 34, was sentenced Friday after he had previously pleaded guilty to possessing and accessing child porn.
Burke was arrested last June as part of a Canada-wide investigation involving multiple police agencies, including the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation unit.
READ MORE: Charges laid in Saskatchewan after Canada-wide child pornography bust
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Court was told he possessed thousands of pornographic images, along with a number of graphic videos.
Burke had argued that he was unaware he was downloading illegal material, but a provincial court judge says the accused had to access an encrypted network and search for the files to get the images.
The Crown had asked for a sentence of two years less a day, while the defence had sought a one-year term.
Provincial court Judge Doug Agnew said in his decision that the evidence was the worst he’s ever seen.
“By seeking out videos of the torture of toddlers, he has caused other toddlers to be tortured,” he said.
Angew also told the court that a fundamental function of society is the “nurturing and raising of children.”
“Mr. Burke’s actions strike at the heart of that most basic of concepts in a way that even most child pornography cases do not.”
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