VANCOUVER, June 30 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a ruling that stunned many, the BC Court of Appeal has rejected the appeal of a lower court ruling legalizing the possession of child pornography. The BC government appealed an earlier ruling, which struck down portions of the Criminal Code which made the possession of child porn illegal, claiming that they violated the Constitution. BC Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh said the case will be taken to the Supreme Court of Canada.
In April, LifeSite News reported on disturbing comments by Justice Southin, one of the three appeals court judges hearing the case. Responding to police and crown arguments to overturn the pro-child porn ruling, Southin said: “There are graphic books written about rape and all sorts of things, but we don’t ban them.” Southin questioned the definition of “children” implying that the accepted age of consent for sex – 14 years old – might be too high. Southin also expressed doubt that the children in the porn photos were exploited since they presumably posed for profit. “Whether we like it or not, isn’t it a fair assumption that they did it for money?” she asked. Noting that some of the children in the pornographic photos were from Brazil she asked: “What are we doing pontificating about street kids in Brazil?”
“We don’t have international obligations to stop kids starving to death in the streets of Brazil, do we?” she continued.
For a related story see:
BC, Pedophilia and the Courts
With files from Canadian Press