A convoluted scheme involving fake Instagram accounts and doctored images of minors gave a Penticton judge pause and put sentencing over to another day.
Scott Vanderburg, 35, appeared in Penticton Provincial Court on June 30 for sentencing, long after he pleaded guilty to the charges of creating child pornography and distributing child pornography as defined under the Canadian Criminal Code.
A publication ban applies to the case and covers anything that might identify any of the witnesses or victims involved.
The main issue of dispute between the Crown council and the defence for Vanderburg was whether he would serve out his sentence in jail or under house arrest.
The court heard that in 2022, Vanderburg was originally arrested on suspicion of having sexually interfered with a minor. After being released from police custody, he exited and then returned to the detachment to admit what actually happened, leading to his second arrest that day on charges he later pleaded guilty to.
Prior to his arrests, Vanderburg was a member of the Bethel Church in Penticton and a youth group leader. Three youths were involved in the case, either as victims or witnesses, in order to protect their identities they will be referred to here as Youth One, Youth Two, and Youth Three.
In the fall of 2022, Youth One went to their parent after receiving messages from two burner accounts later identified as belonging to Vanderburg. One of the accounts claimed it was Youth Two, and both of the other youths alleged that Youth Two was in a sexual relationship with Vanderburg.
Youth One provided screenshots of the messages they had received from the first burner account, as well as messages sent through Snapchat allegedly from Youth Two claiming the first burner account had "revealed" the relationship between them and Vanderburg.
That was enough for police to arrest Vanderburg on suspicion of sexually interfering with a minor.
Vanderburg provided a statement where he denied having any relationship with the youth. Youth Two also denied having sent any such messages.
During the investigation, a school counsellor brought forward messages from a third Instagram account sent to Youth Three which also alluded to a sexual relationship between Youth Two and Vanderburg, and further included a doctored image of Youth Two with what appeared to be semen all over their face.
Minutes after Vanderburg's release from police custody for the arrest on suspicion of sexual interference, he returned to admit to fabricating the accounts and all the messages, as well as to sending the doctored image of Youth Two, at which point he was arrested a second time.
Police then searched his phone and found the usage of websites for the manipulation of images in a sexual manner, as well as 30 additional images of adult female bodies with the youth's face superimposed on them.
Crown noted that the position of trust that Vanderburg held was an aggravating factor in the case, while also noting that unlike most other cases involving the charge of producing child sexual abuse material in this case no child was abused to create the material involved.
The court heard that Vanderburg suffers from PTSD after being robbed at gunpoint years prior while working at EB Games in Penticton. And, since his arrest, he has also developed a severe physical malady that initially was thought to be Multiple Sclerosis. He is still undergoing testing for what is causing his issues, but it has left him with severe shakes, physical exhaustion, and a reliance on using a cane to assist in getting around.
Vanderburg has also been excluded from the community at the Bethel Church following his arrests in 2022.
Crown is seeking an 18-month jail sentence, followed by three-years probation including a no-contact order with the youths involved. Crown also asked for Vanderburg to be placed on the sexual offenders' list for 20 years, and to receive an order banning him from places where minors go such as public parks or schoolgrounds for 10 years.
Defence instead is asking that Vanderburg receive either a conditional discharge, which once completed would not result in a criminal record, or a conditional sentence, both of which would be served in the community instead of in jail.
Defence pointed to the potential impact on his medical care as one of the reasons to consider house arrest, and that the pre-sentencing report found him to be a low-to-moderate risk for reoffending.
Due to the unique circumstances of the case, and the lack of easily comparable precedents and case law, the judge's decision on sentence was put over to a be-determined date.
