Ottawa, ON – Larry Brock, Conservative Shadow Minister for Justice and Attorney General of Canada, released the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down mandatory minimums for child sexual abuse material offences:
“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court finding that at least one year in jail for accessing and possessing child sexual abuse material is ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ and ‘grossly disproportionate’ is a disgusting and cruel insult to victims of these heinous crimes.
“It is especially egregious given the two cases involved. One of the offenders had 317 images of children, with 90 percent being of girls between the ages of three and six. The other had 531 images and 274 videos for over a year, most of which involved children from five to ten years old.
“These vile predators caused unimaginable suffering and harm to hundreds of victims, some as young as three. Any normal person who reads this decision would be disgusted, and it is outrageous that child predators might walk free with less than a year in prison.
“Conservatives toughened mandatory minimums for child sexual abuse material in the first place. Now, Parliament must act again. The Liberals must lay out a clear plan for how they will ensure that those charged with these despicable crimes are kept behind bars.
“Conservatives will always fight for the strongest laws, using all tools available to us, to protect the most vulnerable in our society. We will stand with families and children against these evil child predators. We offer our full assistance to the government in Parliament to swiftly fix this travesty.”