A British Columbia judge has sparked outrage after refusing to send a convicted child predator to prison, arguing the man’s stash of abuse material was “relatively modest” in size.
Mark Keenan, 54, of Kelowna, pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography but will not serve a single day in jail.
Instead, Judge Andrew Tam ruled that the offender could serve his sentence at home because his collection of horrific abuse material wasn’t the largest he had come across.
Tam sentenced Keenan to a conditional sentence of two years minus one day, with the first 18 months to be served under house arrest.
After the first 18 months, Keenan will transition to a 6 p.m. curfew for the remainder.
He will also be on probation for an additional year and must submit a DNA sample.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched Keenan’s home in 2018 after flagging his social media presence on Tumblr.
Investigators found six images of boys between nine and sixteen in explicit sexual situations, including one of an adult man touching a child’s genitals.
Judge Tam acknowledged the disturbing nature of the images but emphasized that Keenan’s case was “different.”
The judge argued that Keenan’s collection was “relatively”