A Halifax mother has accepted responsibility for three child pornography charges involving one of her daughters.
The 32-year-old woman pleaded guilty Monday in Halifax provincial court to charges of making, distributing and possessing child pornography.
The pleas came as she was supposed to go on trial on a total of seven charges. She was also accused of sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual exploitation, all involving the girl.
The woman cannot be named because of a publication ban on any information that would identify the victim.
Judge Amy Sakalauskas ordered a presentence report and scheduled the woman’s sentencing for April.
According to an agreed statement of facts, police arrested a man at his home in Bridgewater on Jan. 31, 2019, as part of an ongoing investigation into the distribution and solicitation of child pornography.
A forensic analysis of the man's cellphone revealed it contained explicit images of various women and children.
Edited images were circulated to Department of Community Services employees Feb. 11, 2019, to see if they recognized anyone in the photos. A case worker contacted police later that day and identified the Halifax woman and her children.
Police attended the woman’s home, arrested her and seized her cellphone.
Text messages showed the woman and the South Shore man had discussed making child pornography, a financial arrangement for her to provide photos of her children to him, and the need to prevent the kids from speaking to the authorities so they could avoid detection.
Banking records confirmed the man sent the woman nine e-transfers between July 2018 and December 2018. The e-transfers ranged from $60 to $350 each and came to a total of $1,195.
The man died in a motor vehicle crash shortly after he was arrested.
The woman remained in custody until May 2019, when she was granted bail. She was released on a $5,000 recognizance with her father as surety.
She remains on house arrest at her parents’ home in northern Nova Scotia and can only leave the residence in the company of one of her parents. She’s prohibited from having a cellphone or any device capable of taking digital photos and from accessing the internet unless supervised.
She also cannot have contact with the victim or be in the company of anyone under the age of 16 unless one of her parents is present.
