Man responsible for making and possessing child pornography, designated long term offender

Commenting on the joint submission submitted to Justice Elson, Defence lawyer Sarah Gryba explained conversations between lawyers had started over a year ago and significant thought had into the final proposal.

On June 30, 2022, investigators with the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit, executed a search warrant on a house in Prince Albert.

According to facts read in court, Lester’s collection of child pornographic material included 467 images and 33 videos.

Also noted in court was Lester’s criminal record which includes a conviction as a youth for sexual assault on a minor, and to which he received a community sentence.

In 1990, Lester re-offended and was charged with multiple counts of a related offence, involving multiple victims between the ages of 6 and 11. For this, he received a prison sentence of 4.5 years.

And following a conviction in 2002 for invitation of sexual touching, Lester received long offender status. However, it was later overturned by the court of appeal who felt a two-year sentence was sufficient.

Crown Prosecutor Roger DeCorby noted every assessment done on Lester had deemed him a high risk to re-offend. One report had gone so far as to even say he was three to four times more likely than the average sex offender.

“The proof is in the product,” DeCorby said.

According to discussion heard in court on Thursday, when Lester was arrested in 2022, he was quite candid with police and explained he was downloading child pornography as an alternative to committing more physical acts. Sarah Gryba noted Lester is aware that he is a pedophile and would like to just stop.

“If he had that choice, he would make that,” she explained.

Among the reasons cited for Lester’s psychological problems is extensive physical, emotional, and sexual abuse he suffered as a youth, and only heard the words ‘I love you’ when he was being sexually abused.

“He is motivated to change, he does recognize the harm he’s caused,” Gryba said, adding the purpose of the intense supervision is to help provide Lester with the resources he needs to safely re-integrate back into the community.

“This needs to be the stopping point,” she added.

Noting the programming Lester was previously received in the early 90’s, Gryba said there are signs it was some what successful and that Lester had acquired some tools, given the fact he was looking for alternatives to committing physical harm.

Accepting the joint submission, Justice R.W. Elson said the most significant piece of evidence he read was the report prepared by a forensic psychologist.

“It is both revealing and it is troubling,” he said.

While noting Lester’s troubling upbringing, and supportive relationships during his adult years, Justice Elson also addressed Lester’s reasoning for his actions.

“It was an unacceptable path,” he said, describing Lester’s actions as avoiding one bad, by committing another bad.

Also when to return to the community, Lester will be subject to a number of conditions that include not being in a park, community centre or pool where youth under the age of 16 are present, and when looking for work cannot be in a position of trust.

He’s also prohibited from access to the internet and will be living with a former employer, who was described in court as a positive support, and who has agreed to give up visits with her own grandchildren to provide support for Lester.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

Man responsible for making and possessing child pornography, designated long term offender

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