A sentencing hearing is set to take place this week for a Yellowknife man convicted in December 2023 of possessing child pornography.
As part of the sentencing process, a Northwest Territories Supreme Court judge will have to decide whether 24 images may be submitted as evidence at the hearing.
Russ Jones was charged after NWT RCMP seized his devices in June 2019, including a computer tower and hard drive, containing 5,000 images they said met the criminal definition of child pornography.
While the criminal code uses the term child pornography, many organizations and advocates say the term child sexual abuse material better reflects the abuse and exploitation of children.
During Jones’ trial, the Crown submitted a sample of six images found on his devices, which the defence did not dispute were child sexual abuse material.
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Jones has since admitted to possessing 1,124 images of child sexual abuse material, including 124 of 148 images the Crown plans to submit as evidence during his sentencing. He disputes, however, that 24 of those images meet the definition of child sexual abuse material.
At a Gardiner hearing on Tuesday – where evidence is called during sentencing after an accused person has been found guilty – lawyers discussed whether those 24 images depict children under the age of 18 and were taken for a sexual purpose.
Crown prosecutor Morgan Fane argued the 24 images meet that definition of child sexual abuse material. Defence lawyer Jay Bran said the images, which he has not viewed but heard described, “may be on the fence.”
Justice Shannon Smallwood said she will rule on the admissibility of the images as evidence ahead of Jones’ sentencing hearing on Friday.
