An application to exclude voir dire evidence was denied in Penticton Supreme Court.
(MEAGHAN ARCHER / iNFOnews.ca)
October 20, 2014 - 4:20 PM
PENTICTON - An Oregon man has been added to the sex offender list after he was sentenced today in Penticton for possession of child pornography.
Sidney B. Van Valkenburgh, 49, was arrested at the Osoyoos border on Jan. 9, 2014 while driving a commercial truck north to distribute roofing products in Osoyoos. Border officers found child pornography on his computer during a secondary check and seized the computer and other electronics, which did not have any pornography on them.
The images found on the laptop were of naked girls aged 11 to 15. There were also four videos of four underaged girls exposing their breasts and genitals, said Catherine Crockett, Crown prosecutor. There was no engagement of sexual activity in the photos or videos, she said.
Van Valkenburgh pleaded guilty to having the porn on his computer, however, he thought he had deleted the images months before his arrest, said defence lawyer Don Skogstad.
He was “absolutely dumfounded they were there,” Skogstad said.
Van Valkenburgh was present in Penticton Provincial Court Monday afternoon and was taken to Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre where he will serve 90 days, as ordered by Judge Gregory Koturbash.
Van Valkenburgh will be released at the border once his sentence is complete and he will not be allowed back into Canada. However, Koturbash added conditions to his release, including adding Van Valkenburgh to the sex offender registry for 10 years. This condition is only applicable in Canada, not in the U.S. where Van Valkenburgh lives and works.
“I do realize…it’s a horrible idea to engage in such things,” Van Valkenburgh said before the court.
Koturbash said he hopes the offender is as remorseful as he seems, and does get counselling once back in the U.S, since it is not in his legal jurisdiction to send Van Valkenburgh to counselling.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Meaghan Archer at marcher@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014