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THUNDER BAY — A Thunder Bay man who was arrested as part of the largest child pornography investigations in the city’s history has pleaded guilty to seven charges and could face up to seven years in custody.
Skyler Jay King, 28, appeared before Justice Tracey Nieckarz via video for a plea and sentencing hearing on Friday.
King pleaded guilty to one count of making child pornography available, one count of making child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, one count of voyeurism, one count of exposing his genitals to a person under the age of 16, one count of luring a child under the age of 18, and one count of luring a child under the age of 16.
The offences date from between November 2018 and February 2019. At the time of King’s arrest in June 2019, a total of 169 victims worldwide between the ages of three and 16-years-old were identified by police and more than 45,000 unique images and recordings consistent with child pornography were located.
Investigators with the Thunder Bay Police Service’s Cyber Crime Unit first received reports of child pornography images being uploaded via a social media and messaging service in March 2019.
King was arrested and initially charged with possession of child pornography and two counts of distributing child pornography. Further investigation by police resulted in more charges being laid and King ultimately faced a total of 46 counts relating to child pornography.
Due to the sensitive nature of the offences, the agreed statement of facts was not read into the court record and was instead filed as an exhibit.
Crown attorney Bailey Rudnick is seeking a custodial sentence of seven years, less time served with enhanced pre-sentence custody credit of 377 days. The Crown is also seeking a DNA order, King being subject to the sexual offender registry for life, having restrictions on interactions with individuals under the age of 16 for life, and limitations on his internet use.
“The seven years should be the lowest your honour goes because these facts are truly atrocious,” Rudnick said in her submissions. “In ordinary circumstances without the triable issues and the guilty plea, Mr. King would be looking at a sentence in double digits.”
The triable issue in the case related to whether King’s charter rights were violated when investigators asked for and were given the passcode to his cellphone before he had an opportunity to speak with a lawyer.
Defense counsel Kevin Matthews said officers cannot obtain information from an individual before they’ve had an opportunity to speak to a lawyer, but it was King’s decision not to proceed to trial.
“Ultimately, Mr. King made the decision that regardless of the fact that there might be a charter issue, he was willing and wanting to resolve the issue and move his life forward,” Matthews said.
Rudnick acknowledged that King’s guilty pleas were a mitigating factor, but she highlighted several aggravating factors that she said are significant when determining a sentence that rises to the principals of denunciation and deterrence.
“It’s important the full harm, the full long-term harm of these children, be considered when the court comes to its decision on sentencing,” Rudnick said, adding that the making child pornography and child luring charges are particularly troubling in this case.
Some of the details highlighted by Rudnick are the duration of the communication and number of communications between King and the victims, the volume of communication, the sheer number of victims, and the age of the victims.
“The ages in this case are aggravating. We are dealing with luring children who are quite young and in many cases pre-pubescent,” Rudnick said. “Also aggravating is exposing a child to child pornography or sexual material. We saw he would send child pornography to these children for the purpose of ultimately receiving it back. There is a particular example where he sends it and then says: ‘this is what I want.’”
Many of the victims were also described as being particularly vulnerable and living in poverty in various parts of the world, including countries with less child protections in place.
According to the facts, King provided financial support to the victims during live streams to do sexually explicit acts, which he then saved.
A community victim impact statement was shared with the court by a group of 11 sexual abuse survivors known as the Phoenix 11.
Rudnick said it was important that King hear the community victim impact statement in order to gain insight into the consequences of his actions and the damages this type of behaviour can cause.
“We have to deal with the fact that we keep being abused by people continually seeking out material,” the statement reads in part. “We were robbed as children in so many ways. All of us suffer in various degrees with various conditions.”
During his submission, Matthews acknowledged the severity of the offences, which is why he agreed a custodial sentence was warranted. However, he asked Nieckarz to sentence King to two years less a day, to be followed by three years of probation.
According to Matthews, King is extremely regretful and remorseful for is actions and did not entirely comprehend the severity or the gravity of what he was doing at the time.
Matthews also referred to other mitigating factors, including King having no previous criminal record and the steps he has taken toward rehabilitation while released on bail, including attending counselling sessions.
A pre-sentence report also indicated that King had a stable upbringing with a supportive family but was exposed to pornography at a young age.
King is a member of Gull Bay First Nation and a Gladue report was also ordered. Matthews argued those factors should be taken into consideration for sentencing as well.
Matthews also asked Nieckarz to take into consideration the difficult conditions for King during pre-sentence custody, which included him being moved to four different institutions, being subject to threats and assaults, and his incarceration taking place at the start of the pandemic.
The conditions of his release order were also not unlike house arrest, Matthews argued, and he believes a sentence in a provincial facility with community supervision afterwards through probation is more productive in rehabilitating King as opposed to him being incarcerated in a federal institution for seven years.
“When you look at what is written by his counsellors and parents, this is a man who is capable of rehabilitation and becoming a strong and productive member of society,” Matthews said. “This can send a message that things can be done differently and creatively but still send a message that what he did comes with it a significant penalty.”
When given the opportunity to speak, King recognized the wrongfulness of his actions.
“Looking for and at child porn and asking kids to take off their clothes is not appropriate and I should not have done it,” he said. “I know people will be mad at me and angry with me and I hope one day my family and friends will trust and forgive me for everything I have done.”
The matter has been adjourned to later this month.
