A former employee at the Belleville YMCA and hockey coach in Quinte West has been found guilty on 11 of 14 sex-related charges, while being found not guilty on the other three.
Justice Patrick Hurley handed down his decision to Tanner Neron in Belleville Superior Court on Friday, following the trial that began in January which looked into offences committed between August 2015 and September 2017.
The charges against Neron included four counts of making sexual material available to someone under the age of 16 and four counts of communication with someone under the age of 16 for facilitation, as well as three counts of exposure and one count each possession of child pornography, sexual assault and seduction.
He was found guilty on all counts except for the charge of seduction and two of the three exposure charges.
Evidence given at trial showed Neron sexually exploited five boys, between the ages of 12 and 16, by sharing pornographic images and pictures of his genitals with them via Snapchat, while they were either under his care at YMCA camp, or with the hockey team.
He was also found guilty of inappropriately touching one of the boys while on the bus coming back from a hockey game.
Justice Hurley noted that while Neron didn’t expose himself to all five victims, or send pictures of himself to all of them, the evidence showed a similar pattern with each of them.
Hurley told court that Neron was well aware the boys were under the age of 16 when he sent them the explicit photos and he used a position of trust to befriend each of them and “exploit their curiosity and immaturity”.
Investigators also found images on Neron’s phone and iPad of young men in their underwear, as well as pictures of nude adult women, which he had sent to the boys.
Defence council Ruth Roberts has asked for a number of assessments for her client including a pre-sentence report, a sex offender assessment and a psychological report, with Roberts also noting that ongoing concerns with COVID-19 could delay the process as well.
Roberts says she “respects the decision and the process” adding that “this has been a difficult time for Mr. Neron”.
Crown council John O’Halloran, who works out of the Brockville office, called the decision “very fair and very comprehensive” in how Justice Hurley addressed each element of the offences.
A sentencing is scheduled for a full day on June 1, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
