Crown pushing for 10 years for Herrell
By COLLIN GALLANT on March 5, 2021.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant A Medicine Hat man originally charged with bestiality should spend between six and 10 years in jail after police discovered he produced child pornography as well, defence lawyers and prosecutors argued Thursday. The sentencing hearing at Medicine Hat Provincial Court for Cody Herrell heard his actions were “careful, deliberate … predatory.” “These are very serious crimes,” said Crown prosecutor Sarah Goard-Baker. “The aggravating factors put them at the high end of the spectrum.” In her submission to Judge Ivan Ladoucer she described how Herrell, 27, filmed himself assaulting a toddler, then shared it with other child pornography users along with a detailed commentary and plans for future assaults. He also filmed and posted himself assaulting an adult man who was asleep at the time. Images and videos of sexual activity with several dogs came after time spent “planning and grooming animals for his own gratification.” Defence lawyer Greg White suggested a six and one-half-year prison sentence, stating his client pleaded guilty to the charges at an early stage, avoiding trial, shows willingness to undergo counselling, cannot pursue his chosen career in nursing and was himself a victim of sexual exploitation. White said Herrell, as a lonely 14-year-old in foster care, was befriended online by child predators himself. He was sexually assaulted from that point on and was therefore acclimatized to it as a sort of normal activity in his mind, said White. “He didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘Gee, I’d like to have sex with a dog,” said White. “Is it any surprise we are here today?” The length of the sentence is expected to be announced April 8, at which time Herrell, who no longer lives in Medicine Hat, is expected to appear in court. He attended Thursday’s hearing via closed circuit video feed. Herrell was originally charged in September 2019 by Medicine Hat police. Alberta’s Internet Child Exploitation police unit was contacted after online images were flagged by the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre. He faced charges of bestiality, possessing, accessing and distributing child pornography, and sexual assault relating to a child. In February 2020 he was additionally charged, following the seizure and search of several electronic devices, with making child pornography, sexual touching of a minor, inviting sexual contact with a minor and child luring charges. Court heard Thursday images found include images obtained via internet sharing of the “violent” rape of toddler-aged males by unknown adult men and animals. Those offence dates range from 2013 to 2019. He pled guilty to all charges in October. A court-ordered psychological assessment states he is a moderate to high risk to re-offend, but could be positively affected by counselling and treatment available to him while incarcerated. Goard-Baker said the report also shows Herrell takes limited responsibility for his actions – he said the videos were made at the urging of others rather than for personal reasons. Along with jail time, Herrell will also face a requirement to submit a DNA sample, orders limiting his internet access and a potential lifetime ban on owning weapons and animals. 21-20
