Sharpe Sentenced To House Arrest For Child Porn
Judge says chance of reforming 67-year-old pedophile 'remote': Man who took pictures of young boys shows no remorse
By Mark Hume
Originally published in the National Post, May 3, 2002
VANCOUVER — John Robin Sharpe, a 67-year-old man who has spent the past six years battling in court for the right to produce and collect pornography, has been sentenced to four months under house arrest.
Sharpe, convicted on two counts of possessing pornographic pictures of young boys and found not guilty on charges related to written material, was unrepentant yesterday, saying he has no plans to take treatment for a sexual obsession that has made him Canada's most notorious pedophile.
Rather than going to jail for his crimes he will spend his sentence in a tiny apartment in Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside that was described by the Crown as "dank, confined and unappealing."
Under conditions of the sentence he is to remain in the apartment, under electronic monitoring, between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m. He is not to have contact with anyone under 18, and will have his access to the Internet restricted by software that blocks out pornographic sites.
Sharpe, who came to court carrying an overnight bag because he expected to get jail time, said he was pleased with the sentence.
"Well, it could have been a lot worse," he said.
Asked outside court if he had any regrets, Sharpe replied: "Well, I mean, I have regrets and my main regret is that I failed to get these laws overturned. OK? That is what I worked for. I thought they were bad laws. I still feel that way. And, you know, I regret that I failed."
Asked by the National Post if he had any regrets about the children he'd exploited, Sharpe said:
"Uh. You would have to talk to them. The two boys who uh, are in Vancouver, I've been in touch with them recently. I spoke to both of them… They were very thankful and grateful that they were not identified, uh that they did not get involved. I mean, I would feel, the greatest danger that could happen to kids who take part in, say, child pornography, is that the pictures fall into the hands of the wrong people—particularly the police. Because if that happens and they are identified, they get put through the wringer."
Sharpe was charged in 1996 after police found him in possession of pornographic pictures and stories he'd written about sex with young boys. In his case, which eventually went to the Supreme Court of Canada, he unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of pornography laws, but argued successfully that the stories had "artistic merit."
The courts found, however, that the more than 400 pictures he possessed, many of which he took himself, met the legal definition of child pornography.
Terry Schultes, the prosecutor, urged the courts to give Sharpe a jail sentence of 10 to 12 months because he showed no remorse, wasn't interested in treatment and "a conditional sentence would be unlikely to deter him."
But Justice Duncan Shaw expressed doubts about Sharpe being rehabilitated in jail.
"He's 68 … it would appear he's been a homosexual pedophile since he was a very young man. You talk about restorative measures. Is it practical? The chances of success of changing him to something else. Aren't they remote?"
Judge Shaw also said it appears Sharpe does not pose a risk to the public, noting that during the six years his case has been before the courts, he has adhered to an order prohibiting him from associating with anyone under 18.
Mr. Schultes agreed this was significant, but called for a sentence reflecting "society's collective condemnation" of Sharpe's actions.
He said Sharpe had taken pictures of 91 "very young boys" involved in explicit sexual activity.
Paul Burstein, the defence lawyer, argued, however, that Sharpe's crime was possessing pornographic pictures, nothing more, and there was no evidence that he had committed any other crime.
