Roland's Case — Possess Child Porn — Excessive Delay

Client:  Roland, Accused
Complainant:  Toronto Police Service, Special Investigation Services
Charge:  Possession of Child Pornography

Background:  An acquaintance told the police that Roland had child pornography in his home. The police executed a search warrant, turning everything upside down. They found pictures, magazines, and books, allegedly containing child pornography. One of the pictures was of Roland's former boyfriend in his birthday suit. Roland said he was 21 when the photo was taken; the police said he looked 17. Roland was charged with possession of child pornography. He hired me the next day.

READ THE POLICE REPORT

Goals:  Roland wanted the charge withdrawn or dismissed. The charge was serious. The stakes were high. Roland understood that there was little-to-no chance of convincing the Crown to withdrawn the charge. We were headed to trial.

Strategy:  I first needed to review the full disclosure, which included the pictures alleged to be child pornography, the police notes, and the search warrant documents. Although the Crown has a legal obligation to provide this material, we ran into problems. My disclosure requests kept falling through those mysterious but unseen cracks in the floor of every busy Crown's office. As a result, it took a long time to reach trial. The total delay was 17 months and 26 days. I filed written submissions arguing that this delay breached Roland's rights. I asked that the charge be dismissed. If that failed, I planned to argue that there was a reasonable doubt about whether the alleged images were, in fact, child pornography.

READ THE SUBMISSIONS

Results:  The Judge found that the Crown had a obligation to respond to my disclosure requests in a timely manner, and that, their failure to do so, was the main cause for the excessive delay. He dismissed the charge.

READ THE JUDGE'S GRANTING OF THE MOTION