Cop rips ruling
Child-porn sentence riles officer
By TRACY MCLAUGHLIN, SPECIAL TO THE TORONTO SUN
Fri, September 19, 2003
A member of the OPP Child Pornography unit is outraged the Ontario Court of Appeal shot down a Crown's attempt to appeal a house arrest given to a Newmarket man convicted of possession and distribution of "vile and disgusting" child pornography.
The porn was so repulsive it caused the Crown to weep and the sentencing judge to go home and take a shower after viewing it.
Randy Weber, 43, was convicted last February of possession and distribution of images of little children being bound, gagged, and forced to have sex with men.
He was given a conditional sentence of 14 months -- otherwise known as house arrest.
Among the images viewed in court by Justice Roy Bogusky, one revealed a four-year-old child weeping and struggling, with hands bound and her neck leashed with a dog collar, while an adult male sexually assaulted her. Another image revealed an eight-year-old girl, tied, gagged, blindfolded and hung upside down. A video clip with sound revealed a toddler who could be heard weeping and yelling "stop, stop, stop" while a man assaulted him.
Court heard Weber unknowingly sent undercover police in Ohio some of the photos in an Internet chat room where Weber sometimes masqueraded as a 13-year-old.
Crown attorney Michael Demczur and Gillian Roberts tried, but failed, to get a jail sentence, arguing "the trial judge fundamentally failed to grasp the vile nature of the offences ... and failed to give adequate consideration to the sentencing principles of general deterrence and denunciation" to the general public. The judgment, delivered by appeal court judge Kathryn Feldman, noted the defence expert witness testified Weber is not a pedophile and the Crown did not produce evidence contrary to that evidence. She also noted Weber has suffered, is out of work, and is now estranged from his family and suicidal. But OPP Det.-Sgt. Frank Goldschmidt says a house arrest is nothing more than a "slap on the wrist" and he believes the case should be taken to the Supreme Court of Canada.
"Conditional sentences are nothing but a joke," he said. "You can sit around your house and watch TV, you can go out and if you get caught, all you have to do is tell the officer you're job hunting."
The maximum sentence for possession of child porn is five years in prison; distribution can earn 10 years in prison.
and in a related article.....
I am sickened by these slap on the wrist sentences, how can we say we are a civilized society when we cannot protect our children from these animals.JUDGE SUES RADIO HOST FOR $3M
THE TORONTO STAR
Thursday, September 25, 2003
BETSY POWELL
STAFF REPORTER
An Ontario judge is seeking $3 million in damages from Q107 morning show host John Derringer, the radio station and owner for falsely accusing him of being a "disgrace" to the justice system and society over the sentencing of a man who pleaded guilty to possession and distributing child pornography.
The lawsuit by Justice Richard Schneider, of the Ontario Court of Justice, is a rare case involving a judge and the media.
"It's a very serious libel," said lawyer Julian Porter, who is representing Schneider. "It's improper for a judge to be attacked in this sort of way. Derringer's talk ... was a libellous, untrue rant."
In their statement of defence, the defendants say Derringer's remarks were meant "without actual malice and without gross negligence" and were part of a daily segment called Tool of the Day, featuring his comments on people "ranging from royalty to public officials to parliamentary dignitaries." Derringer could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The statement of claim includes a transcript of comments by Derringer on May 29, the day after Schneider sentenced Yong Jun Kim to a conditional sentence of nine months house arrest and 200 hours community service.
The 20-year-old pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography.
"Richard Schneider you are a disgrace ... and as much as I would like to see it, I can't bring myself to hope that one day it is your kid who is doing what was performed on the videos in Yong Jun Kim's possession," reads the document quoting Derringer.
Also named in the suit is Corus Entertainment Inc., which owns an interest in Q107 Radio.
Capital Punishment is far too lenient for these bastards.
