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Former Air Cadets captain found guilty of sex offenses involving children
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Former Air Cadets captain found guilty of sex offenses involving children

WARNING: This story contains details that some readers may find disturbing.

A former captain who works with the Air Cadets has been found guilty of all eight charges brought against him, including five involving child sexual abuse and another three involving child pornography.

During his weeks-long trial earlier this year, Adrian Schmid pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At the heart of the process was testimonies of two boys who claimed he sexually touched them – as well as the photos police found of a third boy, who did not testify.

The identities of the witnesses and the young people involved are protected by a publication ban.

The High Court also heard from a police officer who testified that more than 11,000 images and 140 videos of child pornography were recovered from a USB drive taken from Schmid’s home.

The files – which showed young people engaging in a wide range of explicit sexual acts – were deleted but police were able to recover them after they were seized.

In all, four devices taken from Schmid’s home contained files later classified as child pornography.

In September, Schmid testified that he found the USB drive on the ground about 15 years ago.

He said he later used it for his own documents, believing it had been deleted.

Schmid had no explanation for other child pornography found by police, but suggested boys may have been to blame. He also denied any sexual touching.

The justice found Schmid not credible

But in court on Monday, Judge Pierre Roger said he rejected the defense’s argument in closing arguments in October that the accused’s evidence should leave the court with a reasonable doubt despite the suspicious circumstances.

“The charges are many and serious,” Roger said as he read aloud his decision.

Ultimately, the justices found that text messages between Schmid and one of the boys were strong evidence of grooming and an inappropriate relationship.

“Many of his explanations defy logic and common sense,” the justice said, referring to Schmid. “Some gave the impression that they were invented by the accused while he was testifying in an unconvincing attempt to explain away the evidence.”

Roger said he thought Schmid was not a credible witness. Instead, he found the boys’ testimony credible and reliable.

He found that although the two boys’ testimonies did not always match, those gaps could be explained by their young ages and that they were trying to force themselves to forget what had happened.

Roger added that the evidence presented also supports a finding that more sexual events took place than what was described during the testimony of the younger of the two boys.

“It was obvious from his testimony that he was still a child with a more limited understanding of what was going on,” Roger said.

Outside court, the boys’ family said they felt justice had been served and a great weight had been lifted.

The father, speaking on behalf of his family, expressed hope that his eldest son would be able to move on following the decision.

“Relief,” said the father. “The last four years have been very hectic, and now it’s a relief. We can move on and start over.”

No sentencing date has been set, with attorneys returning in early December to discuss a potential date.

Following the proceedings, Engel told CBC News he was not ready to make a statement on whether the decision would be appealed.

The Canadian Armed Forces told CBC News that Schmid — who served as a cadet instructor cadre officer — was released from his reserve force in January 2023.