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St. Albert provincial court. FILE PHOTO/St. Albert Gazette

Man pleads guilty to child pornography charge

A St. Albert man with found with more than 1,000 child pornography videos has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography.

Keith Wiebe pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of child pornography in St. Albert Provincial Court on May 9.

According to the agreed statement of facts, in August of 2018 and May 12, 2021, Wiebe viewed multiple images and videos of child pornography.

Wiebe had software on his computer that allowed him to share folders with others around the world.

On Jan 21, 2021, the RCMP Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit made a connection with Wiebe’s computer. On Jan. 23, 2021, ICE made another connection showing files of child pornography, court heard.

On May 12, 2021, a search warrant was executed at his St. Albert residence during which officers obtained 64 hard drives, 1,051 videos, and 192 images of child pornography stored on a Windows desktop being found.

The matter was adjourned until May 30 when a sentencing date will be confirmed.

Wiebe is facing two other charges, including accessing child pornography and distributing/selling/importing/exporting child pornography. These charges have been adjourned to May 30.

Teacher back in court May 30

A Paul Kane High School teacher facing charges of making child pornography and sexual exploitation will be back in court at the end of May.

The court date for Bryce Hughes, 28, of Edmonton was adjourned until May 30 at the case management office at St. Albert Provincial Court.

On March 31, Hughes was charged with agreeing to or arranging a sexual offence against a child; making sexually explicit material available to a child; making child pornography; and possession of child pornography, according to St. Albert RCMP.

Man fined $300 for mischief

A Spruce Grove man found wandering in a St. Albert construction site after hours was fined after pleading guilty to mischief.

Russel Dick, 35, was sentenced to a $300 fine in St. Albert Provincial Court on May 9.

According to the agreed statement of facts, on Dec. 2, 2021, St. Albert RCMP were advised that someone had walked into a Riverside construction site, wandered around the job-site trailer, picked up black electrical cord, and departed the area.

Officers in the Air One helicopter observed a male getting into a dark blue truck parked close to the construction site, court heard. The male in the truck was wearing the same clothing as the individual who was observed at the construction site.

Dick admitted to having a criminal record with multiple driving and property offences over the last decade; however, a gap in criminal activity on his record since 2019 was considered to be a mitigating factor.

In a joint submission, Dick was sentenced to a $300 fine.

Man gets 12 months in road-rage incident

A man pleaded guilty to an assault that occurred at a St. Albert Shell gas station on Monday.

On May 9, Justin Laforest received a 12-month suspended sentence from Judge Bruce Garriock.

According to the agreed statement of facts, on Dec. 20, 2021, multiple witnesses observed Laforest screaming at a young man at a Shell gas station parking lot. Laforest grabbed the young man by his neck while the young man sat in his car, court heard.

In a joint submission, Laforest received a 12-month suspended sentence. Laforest must keep the peace, attend court, report to a probation officer, and attend treatment for anger management. Laforest must also complete 30 hours of community service as part of his sentence.

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