Shuswap man with 800 child pornography images gets 6 months jail

A Shuswap man caught with more than 800 images of child pornography has been sentenced to six months of jail time.

Sicamous resident Duane Denis Redekopp argued that because he was caring for his wife who is terminally ill with cancer, he should receive a conditional sentence order and avoid time behind bars.

However, in a recently published decision, B.C. Provincial Court Judge Dennis Morgan disagreed, telling the 46-year-old "sympathetic circumstances" do not exempt his moral blameworthiness or the gravity of the offence.

According to the recently published decision, police received information from the B.C. Integrated Child Exploitation Unit that Redekopp had uploaded 30 images of child pornography over several months in late 2017. 

Police then searched Redekopp's property and while doing so, saw him throw a thumb drive onto the top shelf of his closet. Police retrieved the thumb drive and other exhibits and discovered more than 800 images and videos of child pornography.

According to the decision, Redekopp had argued he did not download the images but discovered them on the thumb-drive which he stole in 2004. He then said he'd kept the images and uploaded them in an effort to out on-line pedophiles. 

Judge Morgan describes this as an "unbelievable explanation."

According to the decision, Redekopp is married with no children and is the main care provider for his terminally ill wife. He has not worked since 2013 due to his own health and is designated as a person with disabilities.

Court documents say he was found guilty of fraud in 2011 and was ordered by the court to pay back the Ministry of Social Development, following his conviction. The amount is not listed but he is still making the payments.

The decision says he was both physically and mentally abused by his father and stepfather, and he was sexually abused by a neighbour when he was six years old.

A psychological assessment found Redekopp below average in cognitive testing and suggested he had a low to moderate risk of sexual reoffending.

Crown prosecutors argued for six to 12 months of jail time, followed by two years probation.

Citing Redekopp's difficult background and current situation caring for his terminally ill wife, the defence argued for a conditional sentence order and no jail time.

Judge Morgan said neither Redekopp's difficult childhood or his childhood sexual abuse qualified as exceptional circumstances and sentenced him to six months in jail, followed by 24 months probation.

Redekopp will also have to submit a DNA sample and is barred from owning a device capable of accessing the internet. He will also be placed on the sex offenders register for 20 years.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.