A man accused of photographing children in various stages of undress at five Alberta recreation facilities – including Servus Credit Union Place – had his trial postponed this week.
Stephen Thomas Deighton, 45, appeared in Fort McMurray Provincial Court Monday to face 13 charges relating to child pornography. His trial was expected to begin Monday, but was put off so that a preliminary inquiry could be conducted.
“Defence counsel re-elected to have a preliminary inquiry (as is his right),” said Michelle Davio, spokesperson for Alberta Justice, via e-mail on behalf of Crown prosecutor Diane Hollinshead.
Hollinshead could not be reached directly by press time.
A preliminary inquiry is the first step in a serious criminal case and requires the Crown to present its evidence to the judge, who then determines if there is sufficient evidence to go to trial.
Deighton was charged in October 2011 by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s Internet Child Exploitation unit, or ICE, with six counts of voyeurism, five counts of making child pornography, one count of possessing child pornography and one count of accessing child pornography.
A concerned citizen tipped off Fort McMurray police in March 2011 after noticing suspicious photos on a camera. This prompted a search of Deighton’s Fort McMurray home, as well as a home he had access to in St. Albert.
Police seized computers and electronic storage media and discovered photographs and videos of numerous children at swimming pools and in changing rooms, taken between 2009 and 2010.
In addition to Servus Credit Union Place, the offences allegedly occurred at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park, West Edmonton Mall’s World Waterpark, MacDonald Island Park in Fort McMurray and Southland Leisure Centre in Calgary.
Days prior to Deighton’s arrest, the city banned him from all recreation facilities, upon a recommendation from RCMP.
Following his release from custody in October 2011, Deighton was prohibited from going to any place children under the legal age of 18 are known to frequent, including recreation facilities, parks and schools. He was also prohibited from possessing any device that can store or capture visual recordings.
