A Prince George man was sentenced Friday to two years in federal prison followed by three years probation after a massive trove of child pornography was found in his home.
In sentencing Robert Owen Alger, 56, provincial court judge Dan Weatherly had some strong words, saying his initial reaction was to lock him up forever before agreeing to a joint submission from Crown and defence counsels.
Nearly 1,700 images and more than 800 videos were uncovered. The material seized ran the gamut of depravity and most involved preteen girls, prompting Weatherly to describe the content as "absolutely disgusting."
The court also heard Alger was sentenced in 2007 to 28 months in jail for sexually assaulting his 14-year-old stepdaughter. He had been living in the Fraser Valley at the time.
The court heard Alger since made a point of not physically touching minors.
He admitted to the author of a pre-sentence report the images aroused him and brought back memories of the sexual relationship he had with the stepdaughter.
However, the court was also told that conflicted with the types of images police uncovered because they largely depicted much younger girls. Alger has been diagnosed as a pedophile.
He was arrested in mid-December 2015 after a police traced images found on a file-sharing service to Alger, who subsequently pleaded guilty to possessing and accessing child pornography.
Alger did not take sexual offender treatment while serving the term for the sexual assault. Given a chance to speak prior to sentencing, Alger said he would like to "take all programs necessary" while in prison.
In response, Weatherly noted Alger did not apologize for the "trash" found on his computer.
"It's about your own concern for yourself," Weatherly said.
During submissions, Alger's penchant for child pornography was described as an addiction but Weatherly said there are many people with addictions who have taken steps to get them under control.
Weatherly's sentence came with a recommendation that Alger serve his time at Mountain Institute where sexual offender treatment is available and urged him to consider the sentence as an opportunity to turn his life around and straightened out.
Conditions of his probation include that he not be in the presence of anyone under 16 years old without permission and to stay away from parks, playgrounds, pools and schools. He was also denied access to the internet and computers.
Alger's name will also be on the national sex offender information registry for life.
