A former CFB Shilo soldier arrested after thousands of child pornography images were found on his home computer has been sentenced to one year in jail.

Roger Sylvestor, 26, was arrested in October 2013, one year after members of the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service executed a search warrant at his CFB Shilo home.

An analysis of Sylvestor’s computer found evidence he had downloaded over 13,000 images and 180 videos that met the definition of child pornography. Over half of the images had been deleted, but were still traceable at the time Sylvestor’s computer was seized.

The videos “were extremely graphic displays of horrific crimes perpetrated against children,” said Judge Donovan Dvorak.

Sylvestor accumulated his collection using peer-to-peer file sharing software, Crown attorney Richard Lonstrup told court.

“The net effect is that while he was acquiring (images) he was also making the images available to other users on the peer-to-peer network,” Lonstrup said.

The bulk of the still images were drawings in the style of Japanese anime. While the pictures do not involve the violation of live children, they are no less serious, Lonstrup said.

“People like the accused in this case who are actively seeking out child pornography, whether it is a photograph, drawn or animated, they are part of that marketplace that causes children to be abused and exploited,” he said. “This is why collectors need to be deterred just as much as the creators.”

Sylvestor’s arrest had “significant life-altering consequences” and saw him lose a promising military career, said defence lawyer Dan Manning. Sylvestor now lives in Ottawa and works in construction.

Dvorak sentenced Sylvestor to an additional two years supervised probation and ordered that he be placed on the national sex offender registry for 10 years.

Sylvestor pleaded guilty to an additional count of careless storage of a firearm arising from the search of his home and was fined $200.

dean.pritchard@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @deanatwpgsun