(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

CONTENT ADVISORY

A Kamloops judge is taking more time to determine a sentence for a man who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

At a sentencing hearing on Thursday morning in Kamloops Provincial Court, Crown and defence lawyers submitted a joint submission to seek a 30-month federal sentence for Nicholas Mihalech.

Justice Raymond Phillips said he needed more time to review previous cases in order to best determine whether 30 months is appropriate, but did not indicate whether he believed that sentence would be too long or too short.

Mihalech, 26, was found to be in possession of nearly 1,000 images and videos depicting child pornography, the court heard.

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Investigators found them after initiating a search warrant on his home and seized multiple electronics from his home where Mihalech lives with his mother.

The investigation started after tracing an IP address that was found to be associated with images of child pornography on the messaging app Kik.

Mihalech, who was serving a two-year probation sentence for a previous sex-related offence, cooperated with the investigation and later pleaded guilty.

He is facing three charges, including importing or distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography and breach of probation. His previous probation included a condition that he not be in possession of or view pornography.

The Crown said much like an economy, there would be fewer of these images and videos available online without demand.

"Simply viewing these images is enough to re-victimize the children who are depicted in these images who were, in this case, clearly sexually assaulted," Crown prosecutor Alex Janse said.

The images were not shown to the court, but they involved sexual assaults of young girls ranging from several months old to roughly 13-years-old. The court also heard that Mihalech's viewing of pornography evolved over time and did not begin with seeking images depicting children.

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Defence lawyer Joe Killoran told the court Mihalech, who is autistic, has struggled to understand the implications of his actions, but that he is willing to undertake counselling through the federal corrections system.

"His family doesn't know what to do. They love him very much, but they're not equipped to handle this. They don't know how to fix this," Killoran said. "He's a young man. He could have a long future ahead of him with some appropriate treatment, and there's more intensive treatment available in a federal penitentiary."

Mihalech had previously undergone one-to-one counselling in his previous offense, which included a two-year prison sentence, followed by two years on probation.

Both defence and prosecution sought a 30-month prison sentence with the possibility for an earlier release if Mihalech goes through counselling that is available through the prison system.

Justice Phillips, who questioned the connection between Mihalech's autism diagnosis and his offenses, said he needed more time to determine whether 30 months is an appropriate sentence.

Mihalech will return on a later date for sentencing while Phillips reviews previous related cases.

He is considered a moderate to high risk to reoffend, according to Janse.

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