Guilty plea in Cornwall child pornography case

(Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

CORNWALL – A city man has pleaded guilty to having child pornography.

Randy Crowder entered the plea to one count of possession of child pornography during an appearance Thursday morning in a Cornwall courtroom before Judge Franco Giamberardino.

Crowder – a 58-year-old man with grey hair in a brush cut, wearing glasses and dressed in a suit and tie – has no prior criminal record, court heard.

He was arrested June 25, 2019 after the Cornwall Police Service searched his home based on information from the CPS’ Internet Child Exploitation Unit.

Crown attorney Alexandre Simard said officers recovered one picture and one video.

“There was one image located and there was one video located. The two files depicted females between 7 and 15 years old,” Simard read from the case synopsis.

Crowder’s lawyer, Bill Wade, asked for a pre-sentence report (PSR). A PSR is prepared by a probation officer and gives an outline of the offender’s background so it can help the judge determine an appropriate sentence.

Based on how the Crown is prosecuting the case, Crowder could face a minimum sentence of six months to a maximum of two years less a day.

He will be back in court Feb. 13 for a status check on the PSR report but he won’t be sentenced on that day.