A North Dakota man has been sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to importing child pornography.
Michael Garland Crawford, 47, pleaded in a Weyburn, Sask. court on Tuesday. One year is the minimum sentence permitted under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Crawford was arrested Jan. 31 by CBSA officers at the Oungre border crossing between Saskatchewan and North Dakota after border agents found what they believed to be child pornography on his devices.
Crawford was handed over to RCMP officers, who confirmed the suspected images were child pornography and seized ten electronic devices as evidence.
Weyburn RCMP charged Crawford with one count of possession and one count of importation of child pornography.
On Tuesday, the Crown stayed the charge of possession, and Crawford pleaded guilty to the charge of importation.
Eight of Crawford’s devices were also forfeited to the Crown.
While the Crown had only recommended the minimum sentence of one year, Crawford could have faced over ten years in jail.
A similar case occurred in 2019 when Eugene Williams of Maine was sentenced to one year in jail by a New Brunswick court for smuggling child pornography into Canada.
