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NANAIMO — A repeat sex offender busted with a substantial collection of illegal pictures and videos of child exploitation doesn’t want to go to jail.
It’s up to a provincial court judge to decide the fate of 64-year-old Murray Dana Ross after sentencing arguments were heard in Nanaimo on Wednesday, Dec 28.
Ross, a longtime Nanaimo resident, pleaded guilty earlier this year to possessing child pornography in 2020.
The Crown is lobbying for upwards of two years in a provincial jail setting, while Ross’ lawyer argued for a non-custodial sentence.
An agreed statement of facts outlined by the Crown’s Basil McCormick laid out Ross’ conduct.
Analysts with Google flagged a few images of suspected child porn uploaded to the offender’s email account.
A pair of child porn videos were also uploaded by Ross to Instagram, McCormick told court.
Nanaimo RCMP used a July 2020 search warrant to seize several electronic devices from Ross’ apartment.
During the raid, Ross freely told the responding officer the password to his cell phone, which Ross admitted contained illegal material police were looking for.
Nearly 1,900 different pictures and images of child porn were found on multiple devices in the home, primarily involving boys estimated to be between seven and 10 years old.
The collection included nearly 400 duplicates.
Some of the victims were sexually abused by adults, while a few involved bestiality, McCormick said.
While referencing a forensic evaluation of Ross by a psychologist, McCormick noted the offender seemed to have a limited understanding of the motivation for his behaviour.
“He denies being sexually stimulated by pre-pubuscent males, saying his sexual thoughts also included adult males. He acknowledged his criminal history, however, indicates a sexual preference for young boys.”
Ross doesn’t have past or present issues with alcohol, drugs or mental health issues, court was told.
“It’s wrong, I know it’s not the right thing but I just couldn’t stop,” Ross told the psychologist, who deemed Ross to be a relatively low risk to re-offend.
The psychologist found Ross has a pedophilia disorder.
Court was told Ross has not had sexual intercourse in his life.
While mandatory minimum sentences for child porn possession in Canada have been deemed unconstitutional, McCormick stated Ross would be a jail candidate, even if he were a first-time offender.
“The case law holds, in the Crown’s view, general deterrence is what supports affirmation that jail is an appropriate outcome…here there are no exceptional circumstances,” McCormick said as he concluded his submissions.
He has a pair of dated sex offences on his record, dating back to the 1990’s.
A 35-year-old Ross was convicted in 1993 of sexual assault in which he molested a 12-year-old male relative.
Ross received three years probation for the crime.
Five years later Ross was handed a three month non custodial sentence and three years probation for possessing child porn.
Murray Ross had no comment following his sentencing hearing. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)Veteran defence attorney Stephen Taylor argued his client is an exceptional circumstance who should be able to continue rehabilitating in the community.
Taylor noted Ross’ voluntary attendance of 60 sex offender therapy sessions since September of last year at a renowned Courtenay based program demonstrates his commitment to rehabilitation.
“He was so uncomfortable to be confronted by people, It was so uncomfortable telling his story,” Taylor said. “It didn’t happen on the first session, it took many sessions for him to fully disclose and tell the story in a way that didn’t minimize, didn’t rationalize.”
Taylor emphasized jail would disrupt his client’s rehabilitation efforts.
Ross briefly made a statement to judge Dwight Stewart.
“I just apologize for taking up the time of the court and very sorry for what I’ve done,” Ross said, who had three people in court offering their support.
The judge reserved his decision for a future date.
“It needs some further thought, so I will go away and reflect on this,” judge Stewart said.
Ross is not in custody and has had no breaches to a series of court-ordered release conditions in place for nearly a year.
He opted for early retirement from his longtime career in the Nanaimo automotive repair industry due to his court proceedings.
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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes
