Images of nude children found on Oklahoma man's laptop

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By Devon Judge

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Images of nude children posed sexually were discovered on a U.S. man's laptop at the Woodstock port-of-entry last week.

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PHOTO BY DEVON JUDGE

Carlo Lee Luse is escorted into a Woodstock courtroom Friday where he pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography.

On Friday, Carlo Lee Luse of Alex, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography. He was then issued the minimum sentence of 14 days in jail, plus a $500 fine.

"If there ever was a case of the minimum this would have to be it," stated Judge R. Leslie Jackson at sentencing.

The 49-year-old Luse arrived at the Canada/U.S. Border in Belleville last Wednesday saying he was going whale watching and sight seeing in the province. But when asked by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials where he was headed, Luse had no destination in mind, said Crown prosecutor Karen Lee Lamrock.

Border officials then chose to conduct a secondary search of the vehicle, in which they discovered the laptop.

"The images were located in My Documents on the C drive," Lamrock explained. "In My Folders, Downloads, there were three new folders, simply saved as New Folder, New Folder 2 and New Folder 3."

Within folders two and three were found photos of nude children posed sexually," stated the prosecutor.

Of the hundreds of photos found on the laptop, the charge of child pornography possession only related to three images – one of a child alone with their shirt being removed; a second of a child alone; and a third of two children involved in "petting," according to Lamrock.

"Also in these sub-folders were a number of images I would call naturalist images," Lamrock explained, "children nude but not posed in a sexual manner."

As the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled these "naturalist" images to be legal, no further prosecution could be made.

"There were approximately 10 nudist beach images of children under the age of 12... some with painting on their bodies," Lamrock said. "Also among these were a number I would categorize as questionable as to whether the person in them is under the age of 18. The problem is most women fully develop around the age of 14 and there is some difficulty determining their age without their identity.

"There are a number of pictures again of nude women above the age of 18."

Lamrock added that there were no "sex acts" involved in any of the photos.

Noting Luse's possession of three child pornography images was at the "low end of the scale," Lamrock requested a sentence of one month in a provincial jail.

"Deterrence is the thing here," the prosecutor said. "We need to tell Americans that if you bring one or two or three contraband pictures into our country you will go to jail for a month."

Defence counsel Peter Hyslop agreed with the Crown that this was on the "low end" of the scale and therefor deserved the minimum sentence of 14 days.

"The word minimal applies here," Hyslop said.

Judge Jackson agreed and sentenced the U.S. truck driver to 14 days in jail and a $500 fine. He also ordered Luse to 10 years on the Sexual Offender Registration Act and to provide a bodily sample for DNA data bank purposes.

"The images... in terms of content and in terms of number are at the lower end of the scale," Judge Jackson said. "Not that that excuses it. It is still illegal and it is still pornographic."

Following sentencing, Hyslop said the decision to plead guilty immediately was Luse's.

"I just explained the options to him," Hyslop said. "They probably would have held him in jail until his trial, which would probably have been a few months down the road. According to the technical definition under the Criminal Code, he technically had possession of child pornography.

"I think everybody got it right here," he added. "This is his first offense and I suspect nothing will be downloaded onto his computer after this."

Luse will be back in a Woodstock courtroom on Tuesday, Sept. 2, to face an additional charge of attempting to smuggle prohibited goods (child pornography) into Canada under the Customs Act. He faces a maximum of $50,000 and/or six months in jail if found guilty.

"Our officers are always on the lookout for prohibited materials," stated Jennifer Morrison, CBSA spokesperson for the Atlantic region. "Our officers work diligently to enforce the laws against child pornography, to stop prohibited goods from coming into Canada and to help stop child exploitation."