A man who made child pornography at his former Smithers home last August was given a one-year sentence to be followed by three years probation in Smithers provincial court last Tuesday.
Kenneth Moffet had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of making child pornography, and unlawful confinement.
The sentence also comes with a list of court orders. Moffet will be on a sex offender registry for 10 years. He is also banned for life from attending any park or swimming pool where people under the age of 16 are present or can reasonably be expected to be present, or a daycare centre, schoolground, playground or community centre.
Moffet is also prohibited for life from getting a job or volunteer position that involves having authority over anyone under the age of 16, and may not use a computer to communicate with a person under the age of 16.
Moffet’s probation order states he must stay in B.C. unless given permission to leave. It also bars him from being within 100 metres of the victim or her home and school.
The young girl was visiting Moffet’s family on Aug. 14 of last year. He was supervising the victim and other children in his pool before supper.
After dinner, Moffet enticed the girl to come into his bedroom to get her photograph taken by offering her $5.
Once there, Moffet took 21 photos of the girl. At one point, he suggested she move her underwear, which is when he took the offending pictures of her pubic region.
The girl soon wanted to leave the bedroom. Moffet offered her another $5 to stay. When she became upset and insisted on leaving, Moffet suggested to the girl that he would embarrass her with the photos.
The girl told her family and the crimes were reported the next morning to police, who seized Moffet’s computer and camera. The deleted photos were discovered through forensic work.
The defence was asking for a six-to-nine-month sentence. The Crown got its request for a year. Judge William Jackson brought up the pre-sentence report and what it said of Moffet before his ruling.
“It is clear Mr. Moffet understands his family’s suffering. It is less clear he understands the suffering of the victim,” said Judge Jackson.
“The only mitigating circumstance I can see is the guilty plea, not forcing the victim to testify.”