Less than halfway through his sentence, a Medicine Hat man jailed for child pornography related offenses has been granted full parole.
In September 2016, Robert Jeffrey Williams was sentenced to four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography.
Williams became the subject of an Interpol investigation in 2014. Detectives were looking into an international website used for sharing explicit images when the Medicine Hat address was flagged.
Police found more than 200,000 images and nearly 15,000 videos on his home computers and electronic devices.
Last August, the Parole Board of Canada reviewed Williams’ case and granted him day parole.
“You acknowledged an attraction to pornography that includes children and age-appropriate subjects,” the board wrote. “You openly discussed your struggles with depression and using pornography to cope.”
Since then, the board acknowledged Williams has made positive progress. He is rated as “high” when it comes to accountability and his level of motivation, while he continues to be engaged in his correctional plan.
The board reviewed his case again this past March and granted him full parole, citing his continued progress in self-improvement.
“The key has been your willingness to accept help from available resources,” the decision read. “This has made you stronger, less vulnerable, less likely to isolate yourself and better able to make pro-social choices.”
Williams, 30, will have to abide by a number of conditions. They include avoiding children, not possessing pornography and he’s not allowed to own or use any computer or electronic device that gives him access to the internet.
His sentence officially comes to an end in September 2020.