CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A Summerside man who was found guilty of possessing and making child pornography was sentenced Tuesday to one year in jail.
Waylon James Molyneaux appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after he was found guilty in December of both offences.
In sentencing Molyneaux, Douglas said the primary consideration was the protection of the public and he was of the opinion the one-year mandatory minimum on each count to be served concurrently was appropriate.
During the trial, the court heard from a witness who testified she found several photos of an underage girl on Molyneaux’s phone.
That witness deleted the photos, but the police were able to recover them.
Molyneaux told the police he took the photos without looking at the phone’s screen and didn’t know what he was taking pictures of.
After the defence raised issues with how the police recovered the photos, the Crown didn’t seek to have them admitted as evidence.
Douglas convicted Molyneaux based on the witness’ description of the pictures.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, Crown attorney Lisa Goulden said it was clear from a pre-sentence report prepared for the case that Molyneaux continues to assert he was somehow set up into taking the pictures.
Goulden said she didn’t understand how someone could be set up to do something as “heinous” as Molyneaux did.
Molyneaux denied any wrongdoing, Goulden said.
She also said a victim impact statement shows the child has started distancing herself from people and knows she was hurt but doesn’t understand why.
The girl has also started having temper tantrums, Goulden said.
Defence laywer Peter Ghiz said he questioned the impact on the child, saying there was no expert opinion provided showing a “causal connection” between the offence and her behaviour.
Before Douglas delivered his sentence, he asked if Molyneaux had anything to say.
Molyneaux responded by telling the court he had a lot to say but wouldn’t.
Along with the jail time, Molyneaux will be on probation for two years after his release.
He must undergo a sexual deviancy assessment and is banned from having contact with anyone younger than 16 unless his probation officer allows it.
Molyneaux must provide a DNA sample for the national databank, his name will be on the sex offender registry for 20 years and he must forfeit the cellphone he used to take the photos.
After the sentencting, Ghiz told the court he has filed a notice of appeal of Molyneaux’s conviction.
A publication ban prevents the release of any details that could identify the victim.
More details to come later online and in our print and e-editions.
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