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'Nothing short of torture'
Former diamond mine employee Gary Miller sentenced to 13 months for child porn

Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, October 7, 2015

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A judge who sent a man to jail for more than 13 months Friday for possessing child porn said the videos and images "depict nothing short of torture."

Gary Stephen Miller, 63, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the child porn charge, which dates back to May 2014. NWT Supreme Court Justice Karan Shaner handed down her sentence on Friday.

"They were all disturbing and frankly they were sickening," Shaner said of the images she reviewed, which included adults having sex with children and bestiality. "In my view, they depict nothing but torture."

During an earlier court appearance as part of the sentencing process, Shaner viewed a small sample of the videos Miller had in his collection of more than 1,000 photos and videos.

He was caught in a national child porn distribution investigation when a Toronto police officer downloaded video files via peer-to-peer file sharing from his computer last year. Charges of accessing, making and distributing child porn were stayed - meaning they won't be pursued - after Miller pleaded guilty to the possession charge.

Miller has said he was addicted to porn which led to a gradual slide into watching progressively worse material.

Shaner said Miller, a former high ranking employee at the Ekati diamond mine until he was charged, appeared to show remorse for his previous behaviour and that counselling aimed at addressing his issues was a good step.

The sentence she handed down last week was lower than the requested 18 months sought by Crown prosecutor Kindra Lakusta but higher than the mandatory minimum of six months in jail sought by defence lawyer Peter Harte.

The judge went with 16 months, although that was reduced after she gave him credit for the 44 days spent in jail awaiting sentencing. She cited the treatment he has sought in going with a shorter jail sentence.

Miller will spend three years on probation after he is released.

He'll be on several conditions that include abstaining from viewing porn, submit a DNA sample to a national databank and be listed as a sex offender for 10 years.

Despite a Crown request that Miller be banned from owning electronics that would allow him to access the Internet, the judge did not issue such and order.

"I think it's unrealistic that a person can function without the Internet," in this day and age, Shaner said.

The only thing Miller said in court before being led away was "yes, I do," when the judge asked if he understood his sentence.

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