Posted on 05/02/2009 9:54:44 AM PDT by buccaneer81
Hickey says laws constitute censorship
By DON MACPHERSON macpherson.don@dailygleaner.com
A convicted sex offender told a court Friday that people should be allowed to look at child pornography.
He made the comment at a hearing held to determine if he'll be allowed to have a computer and Internet access in his home.
Gordon Thomas Hickey, 59, of 234 Rte. 4 in Harvey applied to the provincial court to have the conditions of his probation varied.
He asked that conditions be dropped that preclude him from possessing a computer and going online, and that allow the police to enter his home without a warrant to ensure compliance.
Hickey pleaded guilty in January 2006 to possession of child pornography between May 1, 1999, and Aug. 26, 2004.
He was caught as a result of an investigation that began in Dallas, Texas.
A credit card used to purchase child pornography online was traced back to Hickey.
He was sentenced in January 2006 to six months in jail and three years of probation.
He told Judge Graydon Nicholas, who sentenced him three years ago, on Friday that he needed a computer and online access in order to get a new business up and running.
"It involves small-scale energy generation," he said.
Before getting to the heart of his request, though, Hickey spoke at length in court Friday about how laws against accessing and possessing child pornography violate his rights.
"I have a firm belief in the fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the Charter of Rights (and Freedoms)," he said.
Laws against child porn constitute government censorship, Hickey said.
Three years ago, a similar rant in court led to his jail sentence.
The defence had asked for a conditional sentence of house arrest, and the Crown didn't oppose it.
Nicholas, after hearing Hickey's opinions on child porn, ruled he couldn't in good conscience grant a conditional sentence.
Crown prosecutor Elan MacPhee opposed Hickey's request Friday to vary his probation order.
She pointed out that the three-year order comes to an end at the end of the month.
"There's only 29 days left," she said.
MacPhee said it's clear Hickey hasn't established his business yet and there are other things he can do to get it ready without a computer.
The prosecutor said it's shocking to hear that Hickey hasn't learned from his time in jail and his probation that what he did was wrong.
Nicholas granted Hickey's request to have a computer and Internet access, but he said until the end of the month, the police will still be able to enter his home without a warrant to ensure he's not accessing illegal material.
The judge warned Hickey of the consequences he'll face if he opts to view child pornography again, noting he'd face a stiffer jail sentence if convicted a second time.
"The rights under the charter are not absolute ... There are limits to every right guaranteed under the charter," Nicholas said.
"In this area of the law, this is not censorship ... No matter what your beliefs are, you cannot access child pornography."
Canada ping.
Fredericton ping.
It’s always about THEIR rights
Is this guy a Community Organizer?
Child porn is legal in the majority of countries, especially those that are largely muslim.
Its only in western countries where we seek to protect our children from this evil.
And they want to legalize homosexuality? This is what will happen if they open the floodgates to such social decadence and unrestrained debauchery!
“The prosecutor said it’s shocking to hear that Hickey hasn’t learned from his time in jail and his probation that what he did was wrong.”
I’m shocked. Shocked, I say!
A convicted sex offender told a court Friday that people should be allowed to look at child pornography... He asked that conditions be dropped that preclude him from possessing a computer and going online, and that allow the police to enter his home without a warrant to ensure compliance.
They were wierd when I was a kid in Fredericton.
And I went to school with the reporter, with whom I was once in company on a double blind date with 2 attractive co-ed students.Don didn't hit it off well with his attractive date. Early in the evening he saud: " Why don't you just go home and play with your weights!"
Its still a joke line between us.
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