NV sex offender convicted again
The North Shore News - published on 11/03/2006
Jane Seyd jseyd@nsnews.com

A 54-year-old North Vancouver man previously convicted of having sex with a 13 year-old girl was handed an additional six-month conditional sentence Oct. 27 after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography in 2005.

Judge Carol Baird Ellan sentenced John Tait of Deep Cove to serve his time in the community rather than going to jail, saying he doesn't present a current danger to the public.

But she warned Tait that Canadian lawmakers no longer agree that people like him should be allowed to serve sentences for child pornography crimes out of custody. Anyone committing a similar crime today would face a minimum 45-day jail term, she said.

Police found the child porn on Tait's computer after seizing it to search for e-mails during an investigation that later resulted in a conviction for invitation to sexual touching of the 13 year-old girl that happened in the summer of 2004.

While police had the computer, they discovered it contained about 60 images - including both photographs and short video clips - of child pornography, mixed in with other legal adult porn, that Tait had downloaded off the Internet.

Tait's lawyer James Humphrey told the judge Tait began downloading the porn after being introduced to the website Kazaa. "He started by downloading music and movies off this website," said Humphrey, then began downloading porn advertised in pop-up notices.

Typically Tait would download a batch of many images at once, said Humphrey. "Some of them were legal, some of them were not legal. He did retain some he knew were wrong on his computer."

But Humphrey told the judge Tait looked at them "out of curiosity" rather than for sexual interest.

In sentencing Tait, however, Baird Ellan warned him that most people would not choose to look at such images. "Most people would be repelled by these images . . . especially the father of a young girl," she said, referring to Tait's own teenaged daughter. She added child pornography perpetuates the victimization of children involved in its production by providing a ready market for the images and desensitizing people to the "repugnance" of the material.

While on the conditional sentence, Baird Ellan banned Tait from alcohol and pornography of any kind. He is also not allowed to be in the presence of a child under 16 - except his daughter - without either his daughter or an adult present and must stay away from parks, swimming pools, community centres and playgrounds where young people might be, except when accompanied by his daughter.

Tait is also banned from using the computer to communicate with anyone under 14 and must allow police to search records of his online activities kept by his Internet service provider and his home computer if requested.

Tait will serve the six-month conditional sentence handed down Friday after finishing the remaining five months of a 12-month conditional sentence he received in March for sexual activity with a girl almost 40 years his junior - including oral sex and use of sex toys - that happened in July of 2004 while the girl was visiting from Ontario and staying on Tait's property.