A Saskatoon judge has designated convicted child pornographer Shane Dale Pattison a long-term offender for his "vile, disturbing and disgusting" sexual exploitation of children.
Justice Richard Danyliuk also challenged the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) to recognize the seriousness of internet child pornography.
In a 42-minute oral decision delivered Thursday morning, Danyliuk took specific issue with how Pattison had served an earlier sentence for 53 child pornography offenses without getting any treatment in prison.
It is simply and unquestionably wrong.- Justice Richard Danyliuk
Pattison had been assessed as a low risk to reoffend during his original intake assessment because he had not been convicted of physically assaulting a child.
"This sort of thing cannot be swept under the rug, or made less than it is, not by anyone," Danyliuk said.
"If CSC personnel continue to think and operate in this fashion they do so at their own peril because they are failing to keep pace with the actuality of the deleterious effects of this particular brand of criminality."
'A perfect storm'
Danyliuk described what happened when Pattison was first sentenced in 2012 as "a perfect storm."
This is when a serious internet predator came into contact with the people who would be managing him in prison for five years.
"CSC's antiquated thinking and policy and methods of distinguishing offenders no longer match the sophisticated cyberworld where people like Mr. Pattison operate to access vile and abhorrent images at will from the comfort of their own homes," Danyliuk said
He said that now is the time to change.
"I call upon them to re-evaluate their existing practices and put better, modern, more responsive and more flexible practices into place," he said.
'Frankly, I have no idea how you live with yourself'
Danyliuk also spoke directly to Shane Pattison.
At points, his voice broke as he described having to view the child pornography images as part of the week-long hearing.
"Today, words fail me when I consider your actions," he said.
"The English language does not have appropriate words to describe how vile, how disgusting, how disturbing all of it is. It is simply and unquestionably wrong."
Danyliuk rejected outright Pattison's various rationalizations: That he was doing it because other people were getting away with it, that his former spouse set him up, that he was a vigilante trying to assist the authorities.
"Frankly, I have no idea how you live with yourself," the judge said.
The sentence
Danyliuk accepted the joint sentencing submission presented by prosecutor Lana Morelli and defence lawyer Brian Pfefferle.
They had recommended a seven-year determinate sentence to be followed by a decade of close supervision in the community.
With credit for time already spent on remand, his net sentence behind bars is five years and six-and-half months.
Danyliuk also accepted recommendations by forensic psychologist Tarah Hook. Her report on Pattison, based on extensive interviews, was a key part of the hearing.
Danyliuk says it's possible that Pattison could be re-integrated into society if he gets treatment behind bars.