Sex offender asks to see images of his abuse of young victim

Kyle Anthony Archer, 37, of Fredericton, also suggested the victim's mother was involved in his crimes, prompting a stern warning from judge

A sex offender who’s admitted to abusing a pre-teen girl for more than two years suggested Thursday someone else was involved and asked to look at images of his crimes.

But the judge who’s set to sentence him later this month warned him that he could put an agreed-upon recommendation for a five-year prison term at risk.

Kyle Anthony Archer, 37, formerly of Colter Court, pleaded guilty in early 2022 to sexually assaulting and abusing a girl between January 2019 and July 2021, and to making and possessing child pornography depicting that sexual abuse.

There’s a court-ordered publication ban in place protecting the girl’s identity.

His sentencing has been delayed repeatedly since May for various reasons, including a judge’s request for further argument, that judge’s suspension from the bench, complaints Archer filed against his lawyer and prosecutors, and his defence counsel’s withdrawal from the case.

The conclusion of the sentencing process is now scheduled for Feb. 28.

Kyle Anthony Archer (Photo: Submitted)

However, Archer was back in Fredericton provincial court Thursday before Judge Lucie Mathurin because prosecutors Shara Munn and Rachel Anstey were seeking direction from the court on a request the defendant made for access to the Crown’s file against him.

Archer wants to see the evidence again

The disclosure had been provided to Adrian Forsythe, Archer’s third defence lawyer, but he was removed as counsel a couple of weeks ago.

Munn said the Crown needs to know exactly what elements from his file he wants to see, noting there’s material in there that he shouldn’t be allowed to peruse.

“What he’s looking for is a representative sample of the evidence,” said lawyer Melinda Ponting-Moore, duty counsel who’s been assigned to guide Archer through the remainder of the sentencing process.

She noted he’s never had a physical copy of his disclosure, though Archer admitted he has gone over it with his previous defence counsel in the past.

“I’ve been asking for this stuff since like March of last year,” he told the court.

“They used evidence against me that was never, ever given to me.”

Archer, clad in orange jail-issued sweats, said he wants to see the material in case he wants to contest some things he might find in there.

But Mathurin said Archer has already accepted the facts of the case and acknowledged he committed the crimes with which he’s charged.

“If you’re contesting your guilty pleas, that’s a different hearing,” she said.

“I’m not changing my guilty plea,” Archer said.

He explained he wants to look at the evidence so he can point to images of the abuse that he created and separate them from those he suggested someone else created.

Archer admitted he possessed all of that material, but he asked what if, “hypothetically,” some of the pornographic photos depicting his abuse of the young girl were taken by her mother.

The victim’s mother has never been charged with any offence related to Archer’s crimes. In fact, he’s suing her and the Fredericton Police Force in small-claims court for the return of his belongings, which he hasn’t been able to access since his arrest and detention in the summer of 2021.

‘Don’t make it worse’

Mathurin clearly took a dim view of what Archer suggested and gave him a stern warning: if he makes statements minimizing his responsibility for the crimes or casting unfounded aspersions on others, he could end up jeopardizing his expected sentence.

Before Forsythe was removed from the case, the defence and prosecution had reached a joint recommendation on sentencing: five years in prison.

Judge Kenneth Oliver, who originally presided over the case, expressed concerns that sentence was insufficient and sought additional submissions from the lawyers on that point.

He was later suspended from the bench due to conduct in an unrelated case, and Mathurin took over, reviewing the transcripts of prior proceedings to get up to speed on the file.

Case law directs judges to accept joint recommendations on sentence if they fall within an acceptable, established range for similar offences, and they can only reject such recommendations if they find they’re wildly out of step with precedents and would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

Courtroom No. 1 in the Fredericton courthouse. (Photo: Don MacPherson/The Fredericton Independent)

Mathurin impressed upon Archer that his actions and words in the case going forward could take the five-year deal off the table.

“You could be looking at seven to eight years,” the judge said.

“Don’t make it worse.”

Mathurin told Archer he’s not getting access to any photos or videos of what he did to the child.

“You’re not going to get to visualize it over and over again,” the judge said.

The parties reached a compromise Thursday on Archer’s request for the Crown file. 

Instead of that material, a copy of the transcript of proceedings from his original May sentencing hearing, during which the prosecution relayed the facts of the case that Archer accepted, would be provided to him so he can see and recall exactly what he’s admitted.

However, Munn said the more detailed and unsettling descriptions of the acts Archer perpetrated on the victim should be redacted as well, arguing it would be inappropriate to give that to him.

Mathurin agreed, directing the Crown to redact those portions of the transcript.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.