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An RCMP constable who had child pornography traced to his computer while he was stationed in Fond-du-Lac, Sask. hugged a lone supporter before being led off in handcuffs to serve a one-year jail sentence.
The sentence for Aiden Arthur Pratchett, 33, was handed down Friday in Saskatoon Provincial Court. Pratchett was convicted in February of accessing and possessing child pornography, offences which carry a minimum six-month sentence, following a trial in Prince Albert.
The charges stem from 2014, when officers with Saskatchewan’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit flagged illegal activity from Pratchett’s IP address between Sept. 29 and Oct. 15. It was traced to the detachment where Pratchett also lived. He was suspended with pay after police searched his home on Oct. 16.
During sentencing arguments, the Crown revealed that investigators recovered more than 100 unique files. Some of the images showed vaginal penetration involving girls younger than 10 years old.
But Pratchett denied any knowledge of the files throughout the trial, arguing anyone could have accessed his computer and suggesting a third-party could have been using his Wi-Fi.
He also refused to give police the passwords to his heavily-encrypted computer—until after he was found guilty.
“I would characterize Mr. Pratchett’s actions throughout the investigation, the trial and the sentencing as self-serving,” prosecutor Michael Segu told reporters outside the courthouse.
The possibility of more charges would depend on what police find if they’re able to unlock Pratchett’s computer, Segu said.
Judge Morris Baniak also gave Pratchett three years of probation following the one-year jail term. It was the exact sentence the Crown had put forward.
In addition, the Crown asked that Pratchett be required to enter the sex offender treatment program upon his release and be banned from possessing electronic devices capable of accessing the internet during his probation period.
Defence lawyer Mark Brayford had argued for nine months in jail despite the fact that his client was in a “position of trust.”
“On the other hand, there’s also the effects of the sentence…the fall from grace from being an RCMP officer to losing your career and your lifetime aspirations,” he said.
But Segu said it was a complete betrayal of the public’s trust.
“Also Mr. Pratchett’s colleagues who have to work with him side-by-side. Quite frankly I would suspect that it would have a very demoralizing effect on those officers that are really trying to do the best job they can do everyday, to be essentially hit from the inside.”
Fellow RCMP officers expressed a “collective sense of betrayal” in a victim impact statement submitted to the court.
Besides his position as a police officer, other aggravating factors included the age of the victims and Pratchett’s apparent lack of insight and remorse. But Baniak pointed out that the ex-Mountie has been taking personal counselling and was a contributing member of society.
“I do not take any pleasure in sentencing this young man,” Baniak said, adding that Pratchett’s loss of employment and ruined reputation “may be the most punitive aspects of his sentence.”
But the children—who are re-victimized every time their image is downloaded and viewed—are clearly the main victims in this case, he said.
The maximum sentence for the offences of accessing and possessing child pornography is five years in prison.
With files from CKOM’s Brent Bosker and paNOW staff
