Donnie Snook appeals 18-year sentence on sex charges

Former Saint John councillor Donnie Snook is appealing his 18-year sentence on sex-related charges, calling it "unreasonable."

Snook was sentenced last month after pleading guilty to 46 sex crimes against children.

Provincial court Judge Alfred Brien gave Snook 1½ times credit for the time he had already spent in custody, knocking his sentence down to 16 years and 10 months.

He will be eligible for parole after serving less than six years.

But Snook, 41, has filed a notice of appeal with the Court of Appeal of New Brunswick in Fredericton.

"The sentence was unreasonable and in excess of the appropriate range in all the circumstances," the two-page document states.

Defence lawyer Dennis Boyle has previously described the sentence as "appropriate, and accurate and just."

Boyle had recommended a 12-year sentence.

Eighteen years is "one of the longest sentences ever awarded in Canada" for such a case, Crown prosecutor Karen Lee Lamrock has said.

She had asked the court to consider a sentence of 21 years in prison, with no eligibility for parole until Snook had served at least half his sentence, or 10 years, whichever was less.

Lamrock had said she initially tried to calculate a recommended sentence based on the individual victims, but came up with a total of more than 75 years.

The charges against Snook include sexual assault, making child pornography and extortion. They span 12 years and involve 17 male victims, some as young as five years old.

Snook has requested presenting his case in writing and in person. His lawyer would appear on his behalf, according to the court document.

Outstanding N.L. charges, forfeiture hearing

Snook is still facing four child exploitation charges in his native Newfoundland and Labrador.

He is accused of assaulting a boy while he was a pastor with the Salvation Army in Mount Moriah in the mid-1990s.

His lawyer has said the two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual interference ​will be dealt with in a New Brunswick court on Nov. 28 and that Snook intends to plead guilty.

Boyle plans to request a concurrent sentence on those charges.

Meanwhile, Snook will have to wait until at least Jan. 8 to learn the fate of some of his property.

The Crown hopes to forfeit seized items connected to his crimes.

Prosecutor Michel Bertrand has said the Crown will be seeking to have the computers and IT storage devices destroyed.

The Crown also hopes to forfeit and sell Snook's house, SUV and a camper van, Bertrand has said.

In addition, the Crown wants to extend the detention of several items related to an "ongoing investigation," he said, declining to comment on whether that investigation is related to Snook's claim that he was abused as a child by a Salvation Army official in Newfoundland and Labrador.