A Kelowna man is heading to jail after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.
Aaron James Paul, born in 1999, was originally given a 24-month conditional sentence for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) last February.
His conditions were house arrest and to not possess any similar material, but he was found to have breached those conditions less than two months later.
On April 5, 2023, the Kelowna RCMP Integrated Child Exploitation (ICE) unit executed a search warrant at Paul’s residence and found evidence that supported new charges of possession of CSAM.
Paul was arrested and found himself back in court in the fall after police submitted a report to Crown Counsel.
Last Wednesday, Paul pled guilty to the latest charge against him and was sentenced to two years in jail.
The judge also placed him on other conditions for 10 years and a lifetime order under the Sexual Offender Information Registration Act, which mandates him to register with the National Sex Offender Registry.
“Our ICE investigators remain dedicated in their pursuit of maintaining a safe community by holding those accountable who choose to exploit children of all our communities,” explained Cpl. Tim Russell.
The RCMP says the unit prioritizes investigations of repeat offenders, which was the case involving Paul.
