Man sentenced to 7 years in prison for child sex crimes
CBC
A Saint John judge says if the Crown had asked for a harsher prison sentence against Andrew Michael Douglas, she might have granted it.
Saint John provincial court judge Kelly Winchester sentenced Douglas to seven years in prison and 20 years of probation Tuesday.
Douglas, 33, pleaded guilty to seven child pornography charges in January. The Saint John man admitted to luring multiple children online, pretending to be someone else, and convincing them to send him nude photos of themselves and young family members.
He also admitted to threatening to hurt himself or others if the photos were not sent.
The offences occurred between Jan. 1, 2020 and Aug. 5, 2021, and involved three victims under the age of 18.
The Crown had asked for five to seven years in prison for Douglas. After handing down her sentence, Winchester told Douglas, "If the Crown asked for more they would have been well on solid ground."
Douglas has a history of sex offences. In 2011, he was added to the sex offender registry after he admitted to trying to persuade a 10-year-old girl to show him her breasts while he was pretending to be another young girl on Facebook.
In 2017, Douglas was sentenced to two years in jail for sexually assaulting a man in a Saint John special care home where they both lived. The family of that man has filed a lawsuit against the province, the special care home and Douglas's father. Douglas was already serving a conditional sentence for a 2016 sexual assault when he was placed in the home by the Department of Social Development.
Judge Winchester told Douglas his extensive history and the "abhorrent" nature of his crimes were aggravating factors she considered when deciding her sentence.
She said his participation in three different sexual offender programs "appeared to have little benefit."
Only one of the victims shared a victim impact statement, in which she said she has trust and security issues. She also said she's scared Douglas could show up at her house or school.
"While no physical harm had come to her ... It was clear there was emotional hurt," Winchester said.
In his pre-sentence report family members said Douglas had learning difficulties and is not capable of regular conversation. Winchester said she was not convinced of his lack of intelligence, considering the "cunning" it took to fabricate the different online profiles, names and scenarios.
"The court is suspect of your intelligence because you had to come up with a fictitious picture, a fictitious age ... and that takes smarts."
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