A judge has handed former Calgary security consultant Daniel Clayton a three-year prison sentence for accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography.
By trading child pornography on line through peer-to-peer software with others over a 10-month period, Clayton was helping fuel a crime that is victimizing children throughout the world, Queen’s Bench Justice Kristine Eidsvik said in passing sentence Friday.
“This plague exploits and abuses our world’s children,” she said.
Eidsvik convicted Clayton on the three child pornography-related charges in March, finding that he traded images and engaged in dozens of sexually explicit chats using peer-to-peer software over a 10-month period in 2009 and 2010.
Forensic experts found evidence of approximately 4,600 images and videos on computers belonging to Clayton.
The sentence falls short of the five- to six-year term sought by Crown prosecutor Jenny Rees, however, she said it can serve as a deterrent.
“I’m hoping every sentence and conviction with regard to child pornography does send a message,” Rees said outside court.
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Rees did not comment on whether she would appeal the sentence, saying she will first review Eidsvik’s decision.
Clayton, meanwhile, maintains his innocence and said he will appeal his conviction.
“I am in contact with the Association (in Defence) of the Wrongfully Convicted and new evidence has come to light as a result of the media attention that will be fully investigated,” Clayton wrote in a letter given to the Herald by his lawyer, Balfour Der.
Der had been seeking a provincial jail term of less than two years, followed by probation.
“The sentence is about a year higher than what it should be, but a year less than what the Crown was seeking. From that perspective, it’s good for Mr. Clayton,” Der said outside court.
Clayton is well-educated with no prior criminal record, meaning he has a good chance of returning to a successful career after his sentence, said Der.
“I would expect Mr. Clayton would be a prime candidate for early release,” he said.
However, Der acknowledged sex offences involving children carry a significant stigma that could make things difficult for Clayton.
Eidsvik gave Clayton 1.5 times credit for 58 days spent in custody after his conviction, noting he spent part of that time sleeping on the floor at the Calgary Remand Centre.
“This is unacceptable practice, in my view,” she said.
Clayton will also be placed on the national sex offender registry and must provide a DNA sample.
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