Winnipeg Child Psychologist Gary Shady Jailed Nine Months for Child Pornography

October 16, 2019

WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg child psychologist who admitted to possessing images and videos of child pornography has been sentenced to nine months in jail.

Gary Shady, who is 73, was sentenced Tuesday after previously pleading guilty to one count of possessing child pornography.

He was arrested in October 2018 after police searched his home and found three videos and 116 images of child porn on his cellphones.

Police began investigating after a tip from a computer-service provider was received by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the U.S.

That agency then alerted the National Child Exploitation Co-ordination Centre in Ottawa and Winnipeg police.

Shady faces 18 months of supervised probation upon release, which will include no access to the internet and regular police checks of his electronic devices.

Provincial court Judge Kael McKenzie said during sentencing that the fact Shady is an educated professional and trained in the effects of trauma on children “increased his moral culpability substantially.”

“Despite being someone who helps children, he knowingly engaged in child abuse,” said McKenzie, describing Shady’s behaviour as “repugnant.”

The court head that Shady admitted in a police interview to being sexually attracted to young boys all his life, but in a court-ordered pre-sentence report he denied having any sexual interest in children.

Defence lawyer Mike Cook argued at last month’s sentencing hearing that Shady accessed the illegal images as a means to recapture his own youth and not for sexual gratification.

McKenzie said those conflicting and changing positions suggested Shady has no insight into his criminal behaviour.

Shady specialized in treating children with Tourette’s syndrome and behaviour problems. The court heard there was no indication his criminal actions crossed over into his professional life.

Source: “Winnipeg child psychologist jailed for accessing child pornography,” The Canadian Press, October 16, 2019. URL: https://theprovince.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/winnipeg-child-psychologist-jailed-for-accessing-child-pornography/wcm/dc7c03e9-42ab-4b07-b988-c5b12a78d8a8