Friday marked day two of a sentencing hearing for Aaron Kowalchuk, 36.
He pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, child luring and making sexually explicit material available to a person under 16 after being arrested by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s Internet Child Exploitation unit in June 2023.
Investigators say he was using Tik Tok and other platforms to lure children for sex, his victims as young as nine years old.
As part of the hearing, the defence is pursuing a challenge under Section 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for cruel and unusual treatment.
The challenge relates to conditions during Kowalchuk’s time in custody at the Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC.) He’s seeking a stay of proceedings.
Kowalchuk has been at the ERC for more than 500 days.
He testified it took about a year to get medication for his ulcerative colitis, which he says worsened to the point he thought he was dying and that it took even longer to be put on a diet that didn’t aggravate his condition.
His lawyer also took issue with the amount of time Kowalchuk has been allowed out of his cell, questioning whether the minimum required in ERC policy has been met.
The ERC’s director of programs was called as a witness, speaking about time out of cell records being missing from reports and what the minimum requirements are depending on the type of unit a person is placed in.
Kowalchuk has been in administrative segregation or restricted placement for most of the time he’s been behind bars.
Kowalchuk also testified about his lack of sleep in the remand, a result of other inmates being too loud, or having trouble sleeping on the mattress because of a rotator cuff injury.
Another issue raised by the defence is Kowalchuk being called names and treated badly by a correctional officer.
The court will potentially hear from one more witness with a decision on the charter violation and potentially a sentence handed down sometime next month.
