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Parksville sex offender convicted of assault, child porn & abduction charges

Jan 10, 2019 | 6:40 PM

NANAIMO — A Parksville man was convicted of sex crimes against a vulnerable underage girl in what court heard was a disturbing case centred around drug use.

John Adam James Landry, 31, was sentenced to 34 months in jail, which amounts to an additional four months in custody due to credit for time already served.

Landry, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault, possession of child pornography and abduction of a person under 16, learned his punishment Thursday in provincial court in Nanaimo.

The charges relate to incidents between April 1 and May 15, 2017 in Parksville.

In an agreed statement of facts, Court heard Landry met the 14-year-old girl at a Parksville homeless camp where the victim wanted to buy drugs.

Crown prosecutor Nick Barber said the owner of the home where Landry lived filed a complaint to Oceanside RCMP about an inappropriate relationship between Landry and the girl.

Oceanside RCMP then got a warrant and searched a video camera in the home, which Barber said showed Landry and the victim having sex.

The video, shot on April 1 of that year, was the only incident of sexual assault the Crown could prove, while the footage also accounted for the child porn charge.

The victim told Landry her age on the video, which was filmed the same day the victim’s guardian advised Oceanside RCMP her niece was missing, drug dependent and vulnerable.

Several other videos from the same period showed Landry and the victim using hard drugs together, Barber said.

Landry was arrested on May 15, 2017 at a Qualicum Beach trailer where he was found with the victim.

He’s been in custody ever since.

Landry’s case was slated to go to trial in October, but he pleaded guilty on the opening day of the proceedings.

James Wright, Landry’s lawyer, said his client had an abusive father and a difficult childhood. He said Landry dropped out of high school and his substance use elevated to hard drugs in his late teens.

According to Wright, Landry removed the girl from a bad situation by steering her away from using heroin.

Wright said Landry was assisting the girl, who was having problems with her uncle.

Barber swiftly contested Wright’s assertions and directly addressed Landry, who sat silently in the prisoner’s box.

“He supplied her with hard drugs and took advantage of her by having sex with her, video recording it and hiding her from the police and her guardian,” Barber said.

While reading out his decision, Judge Ron Lamperson also took exception with Wright’s version of events.

“To characterize Mr. Landry’s offending as being willfully blind would understate the matter…he had more than a suspicion that she was underage which he must follow-up on,” Lamperson said.

Landry did not speak throughout his two-hour sentencing hearing. He’ll serve the rest of his sentence at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Victoria. 

Landry was also handed two-years probation with numerous conditions, including several specifically for sex offenders.

He’ll undergo a mandatory DNA order and will appear on the National Sex Offender Registry for life.

Landry has a long criminal record, primarily for property crimes in Penticton, Kelowna and Grand Forks.

Court was told Landry intends to move to the Kootenay’s upon his release, live with his mother, pursue work opportunities and get treatment.

 

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes