Last Updated: November 17, 2010 9:34pm
A former Orleans elementary school teacher caught up in nationwide child porn bust tearfully apologized Wednesday as he made a bid to serve 90 days or less on weekends.
The Crown is seeking a year behind bars but a remorseful Paul Andre Dumais has already suffered by being picked up at Jean Sauve school in front of his students, losing his career and spending a harrowing five days in jail after a guard leaked his charges, lawyer Denis Cadieux argued.
Police found 170 images and 44 videos of child pornography among adult pornography at his Orleans home in March 2009 as part of Project Salvo, which netted eight arrests in the region and 57 in Canada.
A psychiatrist pegs him as a low-risk to reoffend, Cadieux said.
But prosecutor Julie Scott argued that Dumais, 34, is exactly the kind of offender the courts see charged with possessing child pornography and they’re dealing with them increasingly harshly.
“He presents as an upstanding and contributing member of society but this is the kind of crime that is committed in the home offices and basements of our community,” she said. “It results in kids being abused and trafficked everywhere in the world.”
Cadieux responded that those getting long sentences have distributed child porn or lured children.
“They are not Mr. Dumais,” he argued.
Dumais will be sentenced Jan. 10.