2021-09-01

Judge sentences ex-RCMP superintendent to six months’ jail for possessing child porn

A provincial court judge recently sentenced a former high ranking member of the national police force caught with child sex abuse material to six months in jail and two years' probation.

Lauren McKiel, 84, of Mount Pleasant in Queens County, also had to submit a DNA sample to the national databank and register as a sex offender for 10 years.

In early March, the former RCMP superintendent admitted to one count of child pornography possession, an offence that took place in his home community on June 23, 2020. The prosecution requested a specialized assessment of McKiel prior to sentencing and he was also the subject of a court-ordered report designed to help the presiding judge as to what punishment would be fit and appropriate.

LighthouseNOW applied for and was granted access to the search warrant records in the case. The court documents indicated a child exploitation investigation started when RCMP learned from the U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Mountie's National Child Exploitation Crime Centre that tech giant Microsoft reported a OneDrive user uploaded two files of suspected contraband porn. The document indicated one image recovered is allegedly of a naked girl between nine and 12 years of age. A second image, which investigators believe may not be criminal, is allegedly of two naked girls, also believed to be nine to 12 years of age, who "are posing holding hands for the camera."

Police secured a search warrant for electronic devices November 9, 2020 after zeroing in on an internet protocol address in Queens County alleged to have uploaded the material. Authorities seized SD cards, tablets, laptops, USB drives, and digital cameras and a hard drive, among other items.

In a brief filed with the court, McKiel's defence lawyers, Joel Pink and George Franklin, said the search led to the discovery of about 389 "unique accessible" images of child pornography and about 511 "unique inaccessible" images of contraband porn.

McKiel, who retired as a senior Mountie more than 16 years ago, is remorseful for his actions and engaged in counselling since the charges arose, the lawyers wrote in the brief. In the 23-page document, McKiel's defence attorneys unsuccessfully called for punishment by way of a conditional or 90-day intermittent sentence instead of the six month mandatory minimum.