Regina sex offender sent back to prison for child porn offences

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Warning: This story contains graphic details readers may find disturbing.

Andrew John Downing, a man who has previously served time for sexual offences against children, will be spending more time in prison.

On April 16, he was given a five-year sentence, having pleaded guilty to possessing and making available child pornography, as well as breaching a prohibition order.

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After receiving credit for time served on remand, Downing was left with a little more than four years on the sentence, which was put forward as a joint submission by Crown and defence.

His recent slate of offences stem back to May of 2024, when a member of the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) logged on to a law enforcement system for monitoring peer-to-peer network traffic that police suspect may be involved in child exploitation offences.

Prosecutor Bryan Carter, who was reading the facts of the case into the record, said the officer noticed a child pornography video was being shared by an IP address later determined to be associated with Downing. The officer was able to download a portion of the video from the address, which underpins the charge of making child pornography available.

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A search warrant was executed in September 2024 on the home where Downing was living. They found him in the basement, watching a video on a computer connected to the internet, in breach of a previous prohibition order forbidding him to access the internet.

He was arrested and numerous electronic devices were seized. Police searched the devices and located a significant amount of child pornography material, Carter stated.

The material, according to the prosecutor, depicted children ranging from toddlers to kids aged 13-15, engaged in sex acts including with adult men, women and other children.

“The images also included some animated child pornography, including depictions of animated children being engaged in various sexual acts while being tied up, tortured and having their throats cut,” he said.

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Carter stated that officers found 257 unique images and 596 unique videos, containing child pornography.

Downing’s lawyer Suzan Wurtz said her 50-year-old client was raised as an only child in Toronto, Calgary and Regina, and dropped out before he completed high school, later earning his diploma in prison.

Since his previous convictions for sexual assault, sexual interference and possession of child pornography, which included physical offences against boys between the ages of 12 and 17, Wurtz said Downing has had trouble finding work.

However, she said he has completed programming for sex offenders, as well as “bible” courses and lives with deep shame. He knows what to do to address his risk factors and not let his “demons” take over, Wurtz commented.

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Downing himself offered no apology, but thanked Carter for being accommodating and said he wants to set himself up for “success.”

Judge Noah Evanchuk told him: “I don’t claim to understand why this type of crime continues to happen in Canada.”

But he said Downing’s recent crimes are not victimless. Such offences create demand for child pornography leading to exploitation and abuse in the “most horrific ways,” resulting in lifelong trauma, addictions, poverty and further crime.

“That’s a direct result of people like you,” the judge said to Downing.

Evanchuk made an order placing Downing on a sex offender registry for life and imposed a lifetime prohibition order on him containing clauses aimed at protecting youth.

bharder@postmedia.com

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