Former Calgary police officer jailed for accessing child pornography
Client: Thomas Buttle
Charge: Pornography
Defence: psychiatric report found Buttle a low to moderate risk to commit a future sexual offence
Sentence: 8-months prison
With his wife crying in the front row of the courtroom gallery, a former Calgary police officer was led, handcuffed and in tears, from a city courtroom to begin serving an eight-month jail term.
Provincial court Judge Frank Maloney accepted a joint submission from defence lawyer Alain Hepner and Crown prosecutor James Rowan for Thomas Buttle on a charge of accessing child pornography.
Buttle will also serve a year’s probation as part of the sentencing submissions.
Hepner said the joint submission was reached after lengthy discussions between himself and assigned prosecutor Keith Nicholls.
The high-profile criminal lawyer noted a psychiatric report prepared by Dr. Patrick Baillie found Buttle a low to moderate risk to commit a future sexual offence.
The lawyer said his client’s former position as a constable with the police will make any time in jail difficult.
“The fact he was a member of the Calgary Police Service at the time (is) significant and will certainly impact what’ll happen to him in custody,” Hepner said.
“Mr. Rowan and I come before you with a joint position for eight months in custody followed by a year’s probation.”
Rowan said even though the Crown elected the less serious summary conviction approach to the prosecution, instead of pursuing an indictable offence, there was still a mandatory minimum sentence of six months.
He said the fact Buttle accessed multiple images of child pornography on his home computer while still a member of the police service called for a punishment above the minimum.
Rowan said among the agreed to terms of probation was that Buttle seek psychological counselling during the 12-month period.
“The most important consideration in terms of this individual’s rehabilitation and protection of the public . . . would be to attend to assessment, counselling and treatment,” he said, which would include sex offender relapse prevention.
“Some form of sex offender treatment would be appropriate,” he told Maloney.
Buttle was arrested March 8, 2018, following a search of his residence.
He resigned following charges being laid.
A search warrant was obtained by the Southern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Unit after an internet sharing site in January reported to the U.S. National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children that seven images of child pornography had been uploaded by a user in Alberta.
After sentencing Buttle was handcuffed behind his back and led from the courtroom by a sheriff, his eyes reddened with tears.
Source: Calgary Sun