A Guelph man has been sentenced to six months in prison, minus pre-sentence custody, after images of child pornography were found on his computer by police.
Stuart John Cunningham pleaded guilty to the possession of 76 pictures on his computer that were determined to be child pornography.
On Aug. 8, 2019, Cunningham was sentenced to six months in prison and restrictions were placed on him for 10 years. He was arrested by Guelph Police on Oct. 10, 2018.
Defence and the Crown both requested the six month sentence. Cunningham was given 87 days credit for the 58 days he he was in pre-sentence custody.
The maximum sentence possible was four years.
Cunningham was arrested on charges of possession of child pornography and accessing child pronography, but only pleaded guilty to the possession charge.
A request from defence for additional credit for pre-sentence custody was denied by Justice Michael Wendl.
In his decision, Wendl notes that the possession of child pornography is in and of itself child abuse, and in viewing child pornography the offender participated in the abuse of children.
For 10 years, Cunningham is also prohibited from attending a park or public swimming area, being in a position of trust toward female persons under 16, having any contact with a female person under the age of 16 and restrictions are in place for his use of a computer.
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