Daniel Emond, a 35-year-old former peace officer for the City of Grande Prairie, Alberta, was sentenced to a two-year conditional sentence order (CSO) to be served under house arrest after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography. The sentence, delivered by Court of King's Bench Justice Maureen McGuire on Monday, also includes one year of probation and a 20-year sex offender registration requirement.
Details of the Offence
Emond was arrested in September 2023 following an investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT). The investigation began after the messaging app Kik reported an upload of child sexual abuse images from one of Emond's devices to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which then alerted Canadian authorities. A subsequent search of Emond's home in Grande Prairie led to the seizure of five devices, one of which contained 254 images and 98 videos depicting girls as young as nine being sexually abused.
During a police interview, Emond admitted to viewing the files but claimed he deleted any depicting young children. However, when confronted with the evidence, he stated he “fantasized about them as 18 year olds,” according to prosecutor Ashley Antonio.
Sentencing and Rationale
The joint submission from the Crown and defence recommended the CSO, which Justice McGuire accepted, noting that such sentences are rare in cases involving child sexual abuse material. She emphasized that Emond posed a low risk to the community due to his proactive steps to seek counselling shortly after his arrest. “This is a serious offence, and because of that it’s not one where commonly a CSO would be appropriate,” McGuire said. “But … these are exceptional circumstances.”
Defence lawyer Ellen Carbonaro argued that Emond obtained the images as part of a bulk download during a period of escalating risky behaviour. He has since been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, which Carbonaro described as characterized by “rigid, rule-oriented” behaviour. She stated that accessing child sexual abuse material “was a coping mechanism for that disorder.”
Impact on Emond's Life
Emond lost his job following the charges, and he and his family were forced to move to High Prairie to escape public backlash. Carbonaro noted that Emond planned to plead guilty earlier but that negotiations with the Crown took several months. She also highlighted that Emond would have faced “significant risk to his safety” in prison given his background in law enforcement.
Justice McGuire praised Emond for seeking treatment promptly, stating, “That is something that takes a significant amount of character to do when you’re in the position that you are in.” In addition to the CSO and probation, the court imposed a DNA order and a 20-year sex offender registration requirement.
