By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Blood Tribe man sentenced on multiple child porn charges

Jun 1, 2018 | 4:42 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A 25-year-old Blood Tribe man has been handed a sentence of four years and nine months in prison, after admitting to various child pornography charges.

Cody Wright admitted to the charges that were part of two separate police investigations – the second of which occurred while he was out on bail for the first offence. The charges are for accessing, possessing, and sharing child porn, and for failing to comply with court orders.

The first investigation by police started in April of 2015 and continued into 2016, when various social media platforms reported to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a user had uploaded child porn onto their websites. Police were eventually able to trace the IP address used to upload the images to Cody Wright. When they arrived at his home with a search warrant, Wright immediately admitted to the allegations.

While on release in the summer of 2017, another social media site reported to the NCMEC that a user was doing the same thing, and again it was traced back to Wright.

In total, authorities recovered 16,278 images and 892 videos of child pornography in Wright’s possession, with the ages of the children ranging between newborn and young teens.

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A pre-sentence report prepared for Wright states that he is considered a moderate risk to re-offend, with defence lawyer Robin McIntyre noting that the report also says he is unlikely to pose a physical risk to others. She added that he has shown remorse for his actions and is “disgusted by himself.”

McIntyre also informed the court that her client has attempted suicide three times since he was first charged – the most recent of which in April resulted in him having to be resuscitated and then treated in the intensive care unit.

A Gladue report that examined his Aboriginal heritage was also delivered to the court. It indicates that Wright had a troubled upbringing, as he lost his mother at an early age and his father was not involved in his life. He was surrounded by substance abuse growing up with his aunt and grandparents – all of whom attended residential schools – and he suffered mental abuse from a family member.

Following Wright’s time in prison, he will be bound by conditions for 10 years. Those include that he not attend any parks, swimming pools, schools, etc. where there are likely to be children under the age of 16; that he have no contact with anyone under the age of 16 unless supervised by an adult who knows about his conviction; that he not be allowed to work or volunteer in a position of trust with children; and he is barred from accessing a computer or the internet unless supervised, or for school or work purposes.

Because of credit for time spent in pre-trial custody, Wright has just under four years left to serve on his sentence.