A man facing a charge of accessing child pornography was sentenced in North Battleford provincial court Friday. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

In the courts

North Battleford man sentenced to six months for accessing child pornography

Nov 15, 2019 | 4:56 PM

A North Battleford man has been sentenced to six months in custody for accessing child pornography following an investigation involving the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit.

Cameron Froese, 54, was facing a lone charge of accessing child pornography following a police investigation. He had pleaded guilty to the charge.

The judge accepted the Crown and defence counsels’ joint submission of six months in jail.

Crown prosecutor Chris Browne said the accused had no prior record.

“He acknowledges he was accessing [child pornography] only – not [for] possession or distribution,” Browne said, noting Froese didn’t keep the images.

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According to the statement of facts, Browne said that on Jan. 29 and Feb 20, 2019, Microsoft detected an unknown person accessing child pornography using a Microsoft search engine. Microsoft identified the associated user’s Internet Protocol (IP) address on both dates and provided the information to law enforcement.

As a result, Members of ICE and the North Battleford RCMP executed a search warrant at a home in North Battleford in May. A number of computer devices, including a laptop, various USB storage drives, hard drives, a cellphone and tablet were seized.

“He was asked if he was in possession of child pornography and he denied this, however he did advise he searched for it online, and the last time he did so was the previous evening,” the Crown said.

In July, an ICE technician was able to recover images containing child pornography. There were 1,088 digital images located on one of the computer devices.

A technician determined a computer program had been used to clear the internet browsing history on the desktop computer and internal hard-drive.

The judge sentenced Froese to six months in custody. Froese was ordered to supply a DNA sample and will have his name added to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA) for 10 years. Froese must forfeit the related computer devices and USB drives from the investigation.

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW