A former Huntsville man pleaded guilty in court today to accessing child pornography.
In Bracebridge court, Richard Broadbent, 52, admitted he had accessed images of child pornography involving children ranging in age from just a few months old to somewhere between the ages of 10 to 12.
Court heard that in December 2019 Broadbent was caught watching child pornography by a relative.
He agreed to turn himself in and confess to police, which he did two days later.
When police sent his computer to the OPP’s Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, they found 196 sexual images of children, including photos of both boys and girls ranging in age from infants to pre-teens. In court Crown attorney Lyndsay Jeanes described the general content of some of the images, which were horrific in nature.
Jeanes argued that Broadbent should serve three months in jail, in addition to three years probation. She said there were a number of aggravating factors, including the fact that sexual abuse of children was at the heart of the crime. There is also now a record of that abuse that allows that abuse to be shared, she said.
Defense attorney Jeff Marshman told the court Broadbent struggled with an addiction to pornography for years and it spiralled out of control and he began to consume child pornography. He explained that Broadbent has no criminal record, and now has a therapist and is working towards bettering himself.
Broadbent addressed the court and said he was acutely ashamed of his actions, and he wants to be a better person than he was yesterday.
Justice Robert Gattrell called the crime “particularly reprehensible.”
“It trivializes something that, in my opinion, is inherently evil,” said the Justice.
Broadbent was sentenced to 90 days in jail, and three years probation, which included a number of limitations on what he will be allowed to access on the internet.
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