The lawyer for former Vernon Mountie Ryan Hampton says conditions at the Kelowna jail are so poor it's affecting his ability to defend himself in court.
(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
July 16, 2015 - 9:00 PM
KELOWNA – Ryan Hampton, a former Vernon RCMP officer facing child porn charges in Kelowna Supreme Court, has not changed his clothes in eight days.
Hampton, who has been in custody since his arrest in June 2013, was supposed to be shipped back to Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre on the weekends, but was kept in Kelowna last weekend. His lawyer, Jason Tarnow, said today, July 16, he has been wearing the same clothing since last Friday.
“It’s pretty disgusting,” he said.
Tarnow also complained that Hampton, a former RCMP constable whose ex-wife alleges downloaded child porn in 2013, has not been able to sleep because the Kelowna jail cell where he has been housed during the trial is next to the drunk tank.
“It’s pretty rowdy and he’s having difficulty sleeping.”
Tarnow also complained that the poor conditions at Kelowna’s aging facility are negatively affecting his client's ability to prepare for his trial.
“The conditions at Kelowna are less than ideal in that he’s confined to a cell 24 hours a day and he’s not permitted to have pens,” he says. “He has no exercise, it’s very difficult for him.”
Justice Barry Davies ordered that a change of clothes and a razor be brought from the Kamloops correctional centre on Friday but declined to get involved in housing matters.
Hampton took the stand for the first time during a voir dire to determine if statements he allegedly made to then-Cpl. Michael Buxton-Carr are admissible. Hampton denies he told Buxton-Carr he left the pictures and videos on the external hard drive for his then- wife Valerie Little to find.
Ryan Hampton has pleaded not guilty to counts of possessing and accessing child pornography, six counts of breach of undertaking for contacting Little when ordered not to, and one count of attempting to obstruct justice by telling her not to contact police.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015