An admitted child molester who also took pornographic photos of kids in Surrey and Ecuador will learn today (Tuesday) how long he’ll be sent to jail for.
James (“Jim”) Cardno, 48, pleaded guilty last November to 15 child sex-related offences – eight of sexual interference of a person under 14, six of touching someone under 14 for a sexual purpose, and one count of making or publishing child pornography.
The crimes involved 10 victims ranging in age between eight and 17 years old. Eight were boys Cardno befriended in Surrey, while two were foster children he had sponsored in Ecuador. The crimes took place between 1993 and 2010.
There is a ban on any information that could identify his victims.
During a sentencing hearing in Surrey Provincial Court Monday, Crown prosecutor Winston Sayson described how Cardno had plenty of video games at his home, provided the boys with alcohol and cigarettes, took them to paintball parks and even went on some out-of-town trips.
Some members of the victims’ families cried in court as graphic images were shown and it was described how Cardno engaged in oral and anal sex with the children repeatedly over many years.
When he visited two brothers in Ecuador he had sponsored, he also took pictures of them and touched them inappropriately, telling them not to worry and that it was Canadian custom.
A psychiatric report revealed Cardno has limited understanding of his actions and minimized the effect of his offences. He said the children didn’t do anything they didn’t want to do, and when asked why he did what he did to the kids, he said “the opportunity was staring me in the face.”
Crown is seeking a prison sentence of between eight and nine years, while defence suggested five to seven years.
The investigation into Cardno’s activities began after one of the Surrey victims was taken to hospital with suicidal tendencies. During that visit, the young man disclosed to a nurse that he’d been molested by Cardno, and so had several of his friends. That led to a search of his apartment in north Surrey, as well as his mother’s house in the Fraser Heights neighbourhood, where pornographic images were found on a hard drive stashed in a briefcase in a safe in a detached garage.
“It’s clear we’re dealing with a deeply flawed character,” said Cardno’s defence lawyer, Patrick Beirne.
He said Cardno’s mother and sister suspected something was up because he was hanging out with such young boys, but they never had any further information and nothing to confront him with. Both the mom and sister, said Beirne, believe Cardno simply never moved on from being a teenager himself.
“He’s not an adult emotionally, as we are,” Beirne told judge Peder Gulbransen.
He said taking the photos began as an art project for Cardno, who claimed he had no sexual interest in the kids.
During police questioning, he said he loved the kids and never meant to hurt them.
“He said the boys were his life and his reason for living,” Beirne said.
Cardno will be sentenced Tuesday (April 16).
