Donnie Snook pleads guilty to 46 charges in child porn case

Coun. Donnie Snook was arrested at his Martha Avenue home in Saint John, New Brunswick.

A former Saint John city councillor has pleaded guilty to a total of 46 charges including making and possessing child pornography.

Donnie Snook, 41, appeared in Saint John provincial court on Wednesday. Sheriff’s deputies escorted him into the courtroom at approximately 10 a.m.

The suspended youth ministry worker wore grey sweatpants and a grey sweatshirt and sported a short, cropped haircut.

CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron noted that Snook appeared thinner than when he last appeared in court in January.

The judge told the court that 38 new charges had been laid against Snook, bringing the total number of charges against him to 46.

There were gasps in the courtroom as an emotionless Snook pleaded guilty to all 46 charges.

“A burden has been taken off his shoulders today. He is in a good state of mind,” says defence lawyer Dennis Boyle. “He’s probably somewhat relieved now that this matter has taken its first steps towards correction, towards rehabilitation, towards healing, perhaps forgiveness.”

The Crown said the crimes to which Snook pleaded guilty involved 17 boys and were committed at various times beginning in January 2001 until his arrest in January of this year.

Crown prosecutor Karen Lee Lamrock says the large number of victims makes the case unusual.

“I personally have not seen a case with this number of victims,” says Lamrock.

Most of the victims were from the Saint John area and ranged in age from five to 15 at the time of the offences.

The charges include:

Police first searched Snook’s Martha Avenue home on Jan. 9.

They seized several items including computers, hard drives, CDs and child sexual abuse images during their search. Snook was arrested at the scene.

Snook, who was first elected as a councillor in 2008, resigned from common council about a week after his arrest.

Police also executed search warrants at his home on Jan. 10, Jan. 15 and Jan. 18. They searched his vehicle and a camper on his property and seized documentation from the Department of Social Development.

In the days following his arrest, the search warrant documents were sealed by judges to protect the identity of Snook’s alleged victims.

However, hundreds of pages of search warrants police used to arrest Snook were released in February, with names and addresses blacked out.

The documents indicated that, over the course of almost two years, police in Toronto and Saint John as well as Bell Aliant security were involved in the investigation, which included an undercover officer from Toronto having lurid online chats with someone.

The chats included conversations about getting access to pre-teen boys and pornographic images of young boys.

One of the warrants is directed at the Department of Social Development, asking for a complete file on Snook as a foster parent, and files on all the children that had been in Snook’s care.

That warrant is in connection with the charge of sexual touching of a young person.

The documents indicate Snook had also been under video surveillance by police.

One of the documents also notes that when police arrived at the front door of Snook’s home on Jan. 9, he grabbed a laptop and tried to exit out the back door before being arrested.

Snook is scheduled to appear in Saint John provincial court on June 25 to set a date for sentencing.

The Crown will seek victim impact statements before sentencing and the facts of the case are expected to be read in court on that date.

Saint John residents express shock over charges

The citizens Donnie Snook used to represent are expressing shock over the severity and the sheer number of charges laid against the former city councillor.

“When you look at the impact on the families involved and the community, it’s just mind-boggling,” says area resident Randall Goodwin.

“The thing that surprised me was how many charges he got because at first I think it was like, eight charges, now it’s 46. That’s a big jump,” says Alex Vlamakis.

Snook was a popular councillor while in office, re-elected to the job about a year ago, in part due to his community work mentoring youth in high-poverty neighbourhoods.

The former inner city youth minister was considered a key figure in the community. He served as a board member for the Boys and Girls Club and was responsible for many projects in the city’s south end.

“He did so much stuff. The park seemed like a great idea because it was all beat up. It’s just a shame,” says Brandon Irving.

Darrell Bastarache, Snook’s former friend, has followed the case from the outset. He says he hopes justice is served.

“In the beginning it was really shocking. Like I said before, I was blown away, and then as it goes on, it’s less and less shocking as we know more,” says Bastarache. “But it’s just amazing as there is more that comes out of it every time there’s a little more, a little more. I hope this is it.”

Many south-end residents say they are glad Snook has pleaded guilty to the charges, while others say they are sad the case had to happen at all.

“The parents, at least they can come to a head now. They can put this behind him, once he is sentenced and gone,” says Marcel Doucet. “Eventually they’ll forget about him, I hope. You know, make things easier for the children.”

Now that Snook has entered guilty pleas, Saint John residents are waiting to see how much time he will serve.

“I’d say max. Max is what he deserves, in my opinion,” says Josh Yeomans. “No man like that deserves to be walking the streets for a long time at least.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Mike Cameron and Ashley Dunbar