Crown seeks 4½ years in prison for man who pleaded guilty in child porn case

February 15, 2025 Canuck

Lawyers presented their sentencing arguments Friday for Aarron Kowalchuk, a 35-year-old man who pleaded guilty in June to making child pornography and luring.

In the Court of King’s Bench in Edmonton, Crown prosecutor Jonathan Avey argued for a 4½-year prison sentence, citing multiple aggravating factors including the young age of the children, the volume of images and the severity of abuse.

Kowalchuk’s defence lawyer, Rory Ziv, is seeking a sentence of 2½ years, with 47½ months — just shy of four years — credit, meaning his client would avoid additional in custody.

“It turns my stomach to think of viewing those things, but I think for the process, I’m going to have to deal with that,” said Justice Lynn Michele Angotti, before calling a recess to view hundreds of items depicting child sexual abuse that was found on Kowalchuk’s phone.

Alberta’s Internet Child Exploitation unit, which is part of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), arrested and charged Kowalchuk on Feb. 16, 2023.

In addition to the sexual abuse material on his phone, court heard Kowalchuk, 35, had dated a 13-year-old and told a 15-year-old in an online chat that he had had sex with two minors. Then, in November 2022, Kowalchuk had exchanged messages with an undercover police officer posing as a 13-year old girl.

On Thursday, Kowalchuk told Angotti that he is remorseful and apologized to the victims and their families.

On Friday, Ziv’s argument for a lighter sentence cited entries in Kowalchuk’s diary, which alleged harsh treatment by guards and long periods in administrative or restricted segregation, where he was often denied the minimum time required out of his cell.

Avey, however, argued that records from the Edmonton Remand Centre showed, out of Kowalchuk’s 604 days there, there were only seven during which he was denied his allotted out-of-cell time — and that it was due to operational issues.

The prosecutor also pointed to testimony from Curtis Miller, a guard in Kowalchuk’s unit who described him as quiet and said he couldn’t recall ever having an issue with him.

Ziv agreed that Kowalchuk’s moral responsibility is high, but noted he had no previous criminal record and has been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

The Crown has challenged that diagnosis.

Angotti will deliver her decision on March 6.

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