Saskatoon man who directed live-streamed child porn to be sentenced in mid-September

Arguments in a sentencing hearing wrapped up Thursday for a Saskatoon man who has pleaded guilty to 40 counts of possessing, producing and sharing child pornography.

Philip Michael Chicoine admitted he directed the sexual abuse of children overseas using the computer program Skype. 

Earlier this month, Cpl. Jared Clarke from the Internet Child Exploitation Unit called Chicoine's collection of pornography "the most depraved collection" he had seen.

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Chicoine admitted that he spent more than $20,000 over five years to pay parents to abuse their own children and complained about the difficulties of finding "pedomoms."

He also texted children directly. At one point, a 14-year-old texted Chicoine telling him she needed money to pay for school and bus travel, adding she was so overwhelmed that she may kill herself.

To that, Chicoine replied that he'd want her to film the suicide so that he could watch.

Defence asks for 7-year sentence

Crown prosecutor Lana Morelli finished her arguments Thursday afternoon, asking for a 17-year sentence, though she admitted that "there is nothing quite like this accused and these offences," making it challenging to find an appropriate sentencing range.

Morelli showed a video of a victim of child-pornography exploitation. The victim spoke about how, even years later, she still feels unsafe and that she worries constantly that people who know her have seen photos of her being abused as a child.

Chicoine appeared unmoved during the video.

But his defence attorney, Val Harvey, said he feels remorse and empathy for his victims, and spoke of his past feelings of feeling ostracized and intimidated, both at school and at his workplace.

Chicoine wants to seek treatment for his addictions, she added.

Harvey is asking for a sentence of seven years, noting that in other child porn cases where the accused was caught with 52,000 to 80,000 photos of children, sentences of two to five years were handed out.

Chicoine was found to have 10,126 videos and 4,714 photos in his possession, according to the Crown. 

The judge in the case said she expects to deliver her sentence on Sept. 21.