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Twins, 20, Jailed for Child Porn Including 'Manga' Images
posted on by Egan Loo
David Scott Hammond and James Cory Hammond, 20-year-old twin brothers from the Canadian town of New Glasgow, were sentenced on Wednesday to prison for possessing pornographic images of real children, as well as drawings described as "manga" and "anime." Each received three months in prison and 18 months of probation.
The two were arrested last November after their sister-in-law found "distressing" images on their two home computers. Craig Botterill, an attorney for the government's prosecution, said that the twins' collection included “videos depicting sexual assaults of barely pubescent boys, around 12 years old, some pictures, and cartoon drawings.” According to the Pictou Country Nova Scotia News, about 90% of the collection were of "cartoon drawings called Japanese Anime, while the remainder were of actual children." So-called "virtual child pornography" of fictional children is not legal in Canada.
Both defendants admitted to downloading the images and needing help, and David Hammond's lawyer, Doug Lloy, said that his client was unaware that virtual child pornography was illegal in Canada. Lloy added that David Hammond was in a "non-deviant" homosexual relationship, and a court psychiatric report said that Cory Hammond admitted to being attracted 12-year-old boys. After the defense argued for the twins' safety in prison, Judge Theodore Tax ordered that they serve their prison sentences on weekends in protective custody, away from the general prison population. During their probation, they must enter a sex offender treatment program and the national sex offender registry. They also must provide DNA samples to the police and avoid any possible contact with children.
Source: Pictou Country Nova Scotia News, The Chronicle Herald via Icarus Publishing
