EditorSA国际影视传媒檚 note: This story contains graphic details that may be disturbing to some readers.

Ongoing. Retraumatized. Prolonged. Permanent.

These are the words the victims of child pornography used to describe how one offender continues to impact their daily lives.

Former registered nurse Mario LaPlante, 64, with a ring of thinning, grey hair, sat in supreme court wearing a red, shiny polo shirt on Feb. 2 to hear from his victims.

In August 2021, the Ontario resident pleaded guilty to possessing and making pornography accessible to others. He is back in custody in Yellowknife while he awaits his sentence.

LaPlanteSA国际影视传媒檚 case is complex due to the sheer volume and sensitive nature of the evidence; part of the Feb. 2 hearing was dedicated to discussing custody of a flash drive containing case evidence.

The Crown also noted a SA国际影视传媒渃onflict between expertsSA国际影视传媒� in that the two forensic psychiatrists who questioned LaPlante do not agree on a diagnosis SA国际影视传媒� one believes he is SA国际影视传媒渓ow riskSA国际影视传媒� of reoffending.

On Aug. 22, 2019, the NWT seized LaPlanteSA国际影视传媒檚 computer and iPhone at the health centre in What矛, where he was working as a nurse.

SEE: charge 62-year-old man with child pornography offences

It took an computer forensics lab two weeks to unearth 39,873 unique images and 2,302 hours of child pornography. The lab confirmed LaPlante used online file sharing service BitTorrent to receive and share the illicit images. He did it via the internet connection at his workplace.

The NWT Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) SA国际影视传媒� a two-officer unit based in Yellowknife SA国际影视传媒� spent another four weeks running the cache of images through a different specialized software system that reads several images simultaneously and reduces the need for a person to view them. The software is calibrated to classify that images meet the Criminal Code.

From this data, the ICE team complied an eight-minute and 30-second SA国际影视传媒渞epresentative sampleSA国际影视传媒� of the collection that Chief Justice Louise Charbonneau reviewed to understand the full extent of the crime.

The court mentioned that the material was so heinous that officers were to only review it for up to four hours in a morning to reduce the psychological trauma.

The rule exists for good reason: LaPlanteSA国际影视传媒檚 collection depicted children from infancy to aged 12 in sexual acts of extreme depravity including sex toy use, oral sex, group sex, bestiality, and violence.

LaPlante sat before Charbonneau, lawyers and reporters while two recorded victim impact statements played on a television screen that loomed in the corner of the room.

The first woman was one of the children in some of the photos seized from LaPlanteSA国际影视传媒檚 computer. The other spoke for her daughter, who was also identified as being among the children in the sizeable stash of footage.

Although the womenSA国际影视传媒檚 faces were darkened to obscure their identity, their clear voices cut a commanding presence in the courtroom as they directly addressed LaPlante, and detailed the litany of ways that he had destroyed their lives through child pornography.

SA国际影视传媒淓very day I live in fear that someone will see my pictures and they will recognize me, and ISA国际影视传媒檒l be humiliated againSA国际影视传媒� said the first victim. SA国际影视传媒淚 want it all erased; I want it all stopped. His crime never stopped.SA国际影视传媒�

She said the abuse causes her mind to frequently SA国际影视传媒渟kip out.SA国际影视传媒� Due to these breaks in concentration, sheSA国际影视传媒檚 unable to obtain her driverSA国际影视传媒檚 licence, plan events or find a job.

She said she has trouble setting boundaries in relationships.

She canSA国际影视传媒檛 accept gifts.

Once, in college, her class was shown a video about child abuse and she ran out. She never went back.

Throughout her video statement, she returned to the idea of permanence, her image is out there, somewhere, and can never be erased. In her final statements, she addressed the court: SA国际影视传媒淚 want everyone who downloads those images to be punished. Why should they be free when ISA国际影视传媒檓 not?SA国际影视传媒�

Then, the mother of other child pornography victim spoke of the SA国际影视传媒渙ngoingSA国际影视传媒� effects of the crime.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen I go to a mall or a sporting event I think, who here has seen my child abused?SA国际影视传媒� she said.

The trauma has impacted her to the point where the mother says she canSA国际影视传媒檛 work.

SA国际影视传媒淚 feel dead,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

She described how her daughter oscillates between anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue as she expends SA国际影视传媒渁ll of her energy into carrying burden.SA国际影视传媒�

She is afraid to go out and play, said the mother.

After the abuse, the daughter asked for her hair to be styled to cover her eyes, which her mother assumed was to hide her identity if the photos surfaced.

She wonders if her child will ever recover, or if sheSA国际影视传媒檒l SA国际影视传媒渇orever be that little girl caught in the images.SA国际影视传媒�

The accused remained motionless as the video statements played. Only when counsel discussed the possible return of his iPhone did he appear to pay attention, snapping his head to the left to observe the exchange.

LaPlante appeared in court again on Feb. 3, where the Crown and defence laid out their closing arguments. Charbonneau expects to hand down a sentence in March or April.

Under the law, he is expected to receive between one and 14 years imprisonment.

If you know of a crime against a child, please contact the at 867-669-1111 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.