Child Pornography Defence Lawyer in Toronto

Donich Law is one of the few Firms with experience defending child pornography charges for over 10 years and to have litigated and defeated international child pornography charges across Ontario. We have defended Child Pornography charges from Thunder Bay to London, in Ontario. The Firm has defeated charges with international cooperation from Homeland Security in the United Sates, Europol, NCMEC, New Zealand Digital Child Exploitation Team and the RCMP who cooperate with local police agencies across Ontario to execute search warrants. The Firm has successfully advanced defences related to challenging the nature of the pornography, search warrant Charter challenges, batch file/accidental download and proving the existence of malware responsible for unintended exposure to child pornography. The Firm’s practice has been built on its technical background in cybersecurity.

Jordan Donich has attended Police Internet Crime (ICE) Headquarters and been trained on their forensic software used for categorizing various child pornography images and videos.

The Firm has successfully advanced technical defences related to the intention of the accused to possess or access child pornography. In some cases, such as with Kik Messenger, WhatsApp or peer-to-peer file sharing Torrent programs, unlawful pornography can be automatically downloaded and saved to the media library, such as on a smartphone. These defences have limits, however, as law enforcement will review meta data and circumstantial evidence to determine whether the accused was willfully blind or reckless to the possession of child pornography. If this is established, the offence will unlikely be defeated and a conviction will follow.

• Recently in the Firm’s R. v. M.C. [2022], it secured a withdrawal of Child Pornography Distribution in Brampton. The accused was alleged to have distributed illegal material to a user in Europe. The matter involved the resources and cooperation between, Canadian, American and European internet child exploitation police. The investigation was further complicated given the involvement of large U.S. Tech Companies who cooperate with law enforcement. It took over 3 years to achieve the result. The Firm has defended Child Pornography allegations involving nearly all U.S. Tech Giants including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Kik Messenger.
• In 2022, the Firm defended a young person charged with two counts of possession of child pornography after allegedly downloading child pornography material from a social media website in R. v. P.S. [2022]. After more than two years of Crown negotiations, the Firm secured the withdrawal of one count and a discharge on the remaining count, avoiding a criminal record for the accused.
• In 2022, the Firm successfully defended an individual charged with four counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of distribution of child pornography, one count of making child pornography and one count of child luring in R. v. T.T. [2022]. The individual was charged after he was reported by Instagram for sharing child pornography material with another user. After investigating further, law enforcement discovered the accused had allegedly also been communicating with a minor online for a sexual purpose. Due to the serious nature and quantity of the offences, the accused faced a significant period of incarceration upon conviction. The Firm discovered potential 11(b) Charter issues with the case and leveraged this in Crown negotiations. After two years of negotiations, the Firm resolved the matter with seven of nine charges being withdrawn by the Crown.

• In the Firm’s R. v. E.Z. [2022], it defended one of Ontario’s most complex international child pornography investigations. The accused was a second offender and previously served a jail sentence for possessing child pornography. He was arrested in relation to a Kik Messenger and international cloud-based storage provider investigation, Mega. He was further alleged to have been communicating with other offenders around the world and was charged with 7 child pornography related charges including possession, accessing, distribution and making child pornography. The Crown prosecution team was seeking a 7 year jail sentence, given the accused was a previous offender and was alleged to have possessed some of the most unlawful content online. In these types of cases, there is very little ability to negotiate, given the high public interest in prosecution and public safety. The Firm conducted a forensic analysis of the seized electronics and discovered an error in the information used by law enforcement to obtain a search warrant. The Firm advanced a dual Charter challenge (s.8 and s.11(b)) and was able to secure a withdrawal of 5 child pornography charges, including the most serious allegations.

If you are charged with a child sex offence, you can expect to be placed on bail or sentenced with specific prohibition orders restricting your contact with children. Some of these conditions include places children may be or restrictions on internet use. If you have been charged or will be arrested for a sex offence, you should consider the implications of a publication ban during the proceeding.

• The Firm has experience defending joint international child pornography investigations. In the Firm’s R. v. H.H. [2021], it handled one of the most complex and leghthily child pornography investigations in Ontario, involving cooperation between Homeland Security in the United States, Toronto Police and Cloud based storage providers in New Zealand. Offenders were arrested in both Ontario and the United States with the most illegal form of child pornography considered by the Internet Child Exploitation Police (ICE).
• In 2021, the Firm defended R. v. M.O. [2021] out of Halton, where the client was charged with Possession of Child Pornography x2. To challenge the allegations, the Firm ordered and analyzed both the Form 1 Search Warrant and the form 5.004 Production Warrant used to seize the client’s computers. The Firm conducted a forensic analysis and challenged the alleged unlawful pornography. Ultimately, all charges were withdrawn after 2 years of litigation.

In many cases, Child Pornography investigations happen aggressively and without notice. The Internet Child Exploitation Police (ICE) execute search warrants without notice, often seizing several electronic devices at the address and conducting interviews. Although surveillance of the address was done well before the execution of the warrant, not all seizures lead to arrests. In 2020, the Firm secured the return of property without criminal charges executed by Toronto and St. Catharines police in two separate investigations.

• In the Firm’s R. v. J.M. [2021], it secured a withdrawal of Possession of Child Pornography after a search warrant was executed by the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Police. The accused was allegedly downloading child pornography in a file sharing program which was used by law enforcement to execute the warrant. ICE used metadata to confirm the existence of illegal material. Over a period of two years the Firm reviewed forensic evidence, including computer data from seized electronics. In a rare outcome, the Firm was able to secure a withdrawal of child pornography charges by advancing the defence of accidental download. This defence which is rarely successful was supported by forensic metadata. Child pornography charges are rarely withdrawn because they require prior Deputy Crown approval and the strong public interest in their continued prosecution, even if the case has frailties.
• In November, 2020, the Firm secured a withdrawal of several serious child sex offences in its R. v. A.B. [2020] in Brantford, Ontario. The Defence secured a withdrawal of Making Child Pornography x2, Possession of Child Pornography and Voyeurism x2. Over a period of 2 years of litigation, the Firm was able to establish the accused could not have created the alleged sexually explicit material. This was achieve by obtaining a system image of the electronic devices seized by police. The Firm had the electronic evidence independently reviewed for forensic analysis pursuant to s.490(15) of the Criminal Code. Click here for more specific information on defending child pornography charges.
• Possession or distribution of child pornography is a serious sex offence allegation. In Firm’s R. v. E.G. [2014], it handled one of Ontario’s largest Child Pornography busts, with over 500,000 images and 600 videos of child sexual abuse content seized by Police. Files were being exchanged through what the user thought was encrypted file-sharing communication. The Firm analyzed the Production Orders from the file sharing domains, Search Warrant and other invasive police search tactics used to compromise the encrypted file-sharing program. Given the nature size of the collection, the Firm also completed a child pornography forensic analysis of the numerous devices. Obtaining a copy of the seized computers is often vital to a successful defence, given this data yields information on which the arresting officer obtained a search warrant.

The Firm frequently defence allegations of child pornography throughout Ontario. In many cases, offenders are accused of distributing child pornography on social media. Cyber tips are frequently sent to the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC) located in the United Sates which cooperates with local Canadian law enforcement and internet service providers.

The Firm has extensive experience working to various ICE Unit Police Forces across Ontario. The Firm has worked on international child pornography rings involving both Interpole and Europole. The Firm has also handled international allegations involving the NCMEC and FBI, including seizures of electronics near the Canadian border.

Almost all these cases involve a separate investigation by Children’s Aid Society (CAS). In many instances, CAS works in a joint investigation with law enforcement to obtain a statement from the accused. If the accused does not provide a statement, CAS will refuse access to the accused’s child and may even question the mother’s ability to be responsible. In these cases, the accused can often be caught in a dilemma between protecting his legal interests and seeing his child when presumed innocent.

• In the Firm’s R. v. A.E. [2019], the Firm successfully challenged CAS bail restrictions prohibiting access to the accused’s child without CAS approval, which ultimately gives too much power to the agency. The court overturned Children’s Aid Society and allowed the accused access to his own child.
• In the Firm’s R. v. J.A. [2017], it secured a withdrawal of both Possession of Child Pornography and Distribution of Child Pornography in Guelph. The Firm has also defended allegations where offenders have been caught using Tor Browser and other anonymous file sharing software to avoid detection, including its it R. v. J.T. [2019], in Peel.