Child pornography charge withdrawn against former Yukon teacher-on-call
CBC
A former teacher-on-call in the Yukon who was charged two years ago with possessing child pornography was served a suspended sentence on a different charge on Thursday.
Andrew Cook, 39, worked previously as a teacher-on-call in Whitehorse. He was charged with one count of possessing child pornography and one count of possessing restricted firearm magazines at the end of 2023.
Cook appeared by video for a disposition in Yukon Territorial Court on Thursday.
Crown prosecutors withdrew the child pornography charge, and Cook pleaded guilty to the singular firearms charge.
The Crown and defence jointly submitted that Cook should serve three years of probation with a number of conditions, some related to the withdrawn child pornography charge. Justice Katherine McLeod accepted the joint submission.
Among the probation terms, Cook cannot possess a firearm except as required by an employer.
Cook is also prohibited from contacting people under 16; working in a position of trust with people under 16; and visiting places frequented by people under 16 — including parks, daycares and swimming pools — except with written permission and a supervising adult present. He’s also required to attend counseling and submit a DNA sample to police.
According to the agreed statement of facts read to the court, Cook gave an older iPhone to someone who had broken their phone in October 2023. The recipient’s partner found photos on the phone of females who looked under 18, and they turned the phone in to police.
The phone contained 25 images classified by police as child pornography, prompting an Internet Child Exploitation investigation, according to the statement.
Police arrested Cook at the Whitehorse airport as he was returning from a trip on Dec. 24, 2023. They executed a search warrant of his home and seized six prohibited firearm magazines.
Defence counsel Trevor Martin told the court that nothing of concern was found on Cook’s other devices during the investigation. Cook had pleaded not guilty to the child pornography charge before it was withdrawn.
Martin said the six firearm magazines were given to Cook by the widow of an RCMP officer. Cook is knowledgeable about firearms and had worked with RCMP in the past, Martin said, and the magazines could be modified to carry a legal number of rounds.
The court heard that Cook relocated to Ontario shortly after being charged. Martin said Cook was warned by police that he was at risk of being targeted by "vigilantes" in the territory.
Crown counsel Kathryn Laurie told the court it took several months of negotiation between Crown and defence to reach this joint submission.
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