Drunk sobers up briefly, calls cops on himself for child sexual abuse

 

Sask. man who reported himself for child sex assault gets six-year prison term

Court heard the man was heavily intoxicated when he posted a video of the abuse on Snapchat, leading to his arrest in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, on Nov. 30, 2023.

Author of the article:

Bre McAdam  •  Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Published Aug 20, 2024  •  3 minute read

An empty courtroom in the Saskatoon provincial courthouse is seen in this August 2019 photo. Photo by Matt Smith /Saskatoon StarPhoenix

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Warning: Story discusses child sexual assault 

A Saskatoon man says he immediately called police after he “came to” and realized he had posted a Snapchat video of himself sexually assaulting his five-year old niece.

He said he was drunk, made a mistake and had abused a child, a Saskatoon provincial courtroom heard last month.

The man, who can’t be identified to protect the victim’s identity, gave police an address and said he’d be waiting for them. When they arrived, he was gone, and family members told officers they had discovered the video.

The 31-year-old man was later arrested when he returned home. According to the facts read out at his sentencing hearing, he repeatedly apologized, said he was going to hell for what he did and asked how much time he would spend in prison.

The answer, it ended up, would be six years after Judge Inez Cardinal accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence.

The man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his niece and making child pornography of the abuse on Nov. 18, 2023, as well as sexually assaulting the girl, making child pornography of the abuse and making the abuse available online on Nov. 30, 2023.

He was arrested after the second offence and told police he got rid of his cellphone, but didn’t know where it was because he was intoxicated. Police found it a few houses away and confirmed it was his. 

There were 13 videos depicting child abuse. Eleven of them involved three separate assaults against his niece, Crown prosecutor Andrew Clements said. Four of the 39 child abuse images were of his niece, court heard.

Clements said the Crown reached out to the girl’s family, but no victim impact statements were provided to the court, which heard the offender was dealing with major addictions issues leading up to the offences.

Drugs and kids don't mix.