B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
A man described by U.S. authorities as the world's most prolific purveyor of child pornography at the time of his arrest in Ireland was sentenced on Wednesday to 27 years in federal prison.
Eric Eoin Marques, 36, created and operated computer servers on the dark web that enabled users to anonymously access millions of illicit images and videos, many depicting the rape and torture of infants and toddlers. Law enforcement had never seen many of those images before finding them on Marques' servers, according to prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang told Marques that his crimes were the equivalent of those of a drug kingpin.
"This crime was truly despicable," Chuang said.
Prior to learning his sentence, Marques apologized to the victims and asked for mercy from the court.
"I have destroyed my reputation and my family's reputation. Please give me a second chance," he told Chuang.
The judge agreed to recommend that the federal Bureau of Prisons give Marques credit for eight years he has served in custody both in Ireland and the U.S. since his 2013 arrest. The judge also ordered him to pay restitution of $87,000 to victims of the child pornography that he helped distribute.
The original version of the plea agreement between Marques and prosecutors called for a prison sentence of 15 to 21 years.
Chuang rejected that deal during a hearing in May, calling it "too flawed" and saying he was inclined to give Marques a longer sentence than 15 to 21 years.
The revised agreement recommended a prison sentence between 21 and 27 years, but Chuang wasn't bound by those terms.
Prosecutors recommended a 27-year sentence followed by lifetime supervision after his release, a requirement that Chuang also imposed.
Justice Department prosecutor Ralph Paradiso said Marques created an online community for sexual predators to anonymously abuse and exploit children and share the horrific images that they created.
"They all got together and they sexually exploited children," he said. "They reveled in that sexual exploitation."
Defense attorneys requested a 21-year sentence for Marques, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Ireland. Marques can return to Ireland after he completes his prison sentence.
"There is no one in this courtroom who is not repulsed by what happened in this case," said assistant federal public defender Brendan Hurson, one of Marques' lawyers. "He will not do this again, and he is remorseful for what he has done."
The original plea deal wouldn't have given Marques credit for the time he spent in custody while fighting extradition after his 2013 arrest in Dublin. But Chuang criticized that provision. The judge said in May that he can't tell the Federal Bureau of Prisons to refrain from counting those years when Marques likely was entitled to get credit for that time.
Marques pleaded guilty in February 2020 to creating and operating a web hosting service called "Freedom Hosting" on the darknet between 2008 and 2013. The darknet is part of the internet but hosted within an encrypted network. It is accessible only through anonymity-providing tools.
Investigators found what appeared to be more than 8.5 million images and videos of child pornography on the Freedom Hosting server, according to a court filing that accompanied Marques' guilty plea.
Marques was living in Ireland at the time of the offenses. He was extradited to Maryland in March 2019. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography.
In an April court filing, a prosecutor said a government witness was prepared to testify that investigators had identified Marques as the largest purveyor of child pornography in the world and that he had made approximately $3.6 million in U.S. currency from his servers.
Marques' lawyers say he made money from his legitimate web-hosting services, not Freedom Hosting.
Acting U.S. Attorney Jonathan Lenzner said Marques caused "unspeakable damage" to children.
"This is the first case that I'm aware of where we went to the seeds of the trade, the main engine driving so much of the illegal child pornography trade globally," he said.
Chuang told Marques that he hopes he reads the written statements submitted by his victims.
"It is heartbreaking to see what has happened to these individuals," the judge said.
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.