Man gets prison after pleading guilty to child porn charges

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on August 31, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A 25-year-old Lethbridge man who was caught distributing child pornography through an online chat group has been sent to a federal penitentiary.
Colton Bedard was sentenced Wednesday in Lethbridge Court of Justice to two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count under the Criminal Code that prohibits the distribution, sale, importation and exportation of child pornography.
Court was told Bedard had an account with Kik, a messaging and chat application, and between Oct. 10 and Oct. 29 he uploaded and distributed 30 videos and 10 images of child pornography.
Lisa Weich of Specialized Prosecutions explained the videos involved real children, some as young as two to four months old.
Bedard was arrested on Feb. 10, 2022, and admitted he’d had a problem with child pornography for the previous two years.
“When asked why he engaged in child pornography, he did not or could not explain why,” Weich said.
During a search of his northside home, police found two cellphones and an iPad, all of which contained child pornography.
Calgary lawyer Tonii Roulston acknowledged the aggravating nature of the images, but noted there are some mitigating factors, including her client’s lack of a criminal record, his guilty plea, and his decision not to stand trial, which had been set for last June.
“I tell you that because we have saved five days of trial time,” Roulston said, noting Bedard took responsibility for his actions and confessed to police.
“There were no excuses, there was no denial, he was very open with police with respect to his confession.”
Roulston said Bedard also immediately sought counselling following his arrest.
In addition to his prison sentence, Bedard must submit a sample of his DNA for the National DNA Data Bank, and he must register with the Sex Offender Information Registry for 20 years. He will also be on probation for two years following his release from custody, during which he must adhere to several conditions.
“I would note that despite the fact that there has been no ability to identify the specific victims in this case, child pornography is far from a victimless crime,” Justice Catherine Regier said. “These images of these children, because of what Mr. Bedard has contributed to, will continue to be distributed throughout the world and felt the entirety of the lives of these children.”

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