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WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.
A Saskatchewan man is serving a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a young girl, and taking photos and videos of it.
Nicholas Melnyk, 36, came to the attention of police after the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the U.S. notified the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit in early 2023 about a video uploaded to Snapchat from an IP address linked to an address in southern Saskatchewan.
Officers obtained a search warrant for a home, where they arrested Melnyk and found hundreds of photos and videos of child sexual abuse on cellphones belonging to him, Justice Graeme Mitchell wrote in his sentencing decision on the case.
Of that material, 26 photos and four videos were of a seven-year-old victim abused by Melnyk on multiple occasions in 2018 and 2019. She was not related to him. Any information that would identify her is subject to a publication ban to protect her identity.
Melnyk pleaded guilty to one count each of sexual interference, making child pornography and possessing child pornography (the term “child pornography” has since been changed in the Criminal Code to “child sexual abuse and exploitation material”).
The agreed statement of facts cited in Mitchell’s decision said that Melnyk admitted undressing the girl and touching her, and getting her to touch him.
The Crown argued for a total sentence of 15 years, reduced to 12 years after applying the totality principle, which aims to avoid excessive sentences on multiple charges, while the defence argued for eight years, reduced to seven years due to totality.
Mitchell noted in his decision, handed down in Regina Court of King’s Bench last month, that a 2020 case from the Supreme Court of Canada, R v Friesen, “set a new benchmark” for child abuse sentencing, although offences that predate that decision “should be treated with caution.”
The top court’s decision noted that Parliament has “repeatedly increased sentences for sexual offences against children,” most recently in 2015 by increasing the maximum sentence to 14 years from 10 years for sexual assault of a child.
Mitchell decided the appropriate sentence for Melnyk was 13 years, but reduced it to 10 years after applying the totality principle.
He sentenced Melnyk to seven years on the sexual interference charge, plus two years for making child pornography and one year for possessing child pornography, for the total of 10 years.
Melynk, who has no prior criminal record, was not detained while his case was before the courts, so he has no remand credit.
