A Sudbury man with a growing list of sex crimes against children continues to claim his innocence.
When given the chance to speak during his sentencing hearing Tuesday for possession of child pornography, Michel Albert gave a rambling speech in which he blasted Greater Sudbury Police, Crown prosecutors, his defence and Sudbury Jail staff.
He accused them of destroying or withholding evidence that would clear him. “I’m asking to rescind the verdict and the case reopened,” he told Ontario Court Justice Pierre Bradley.
By reopening the case, Albert said he could provide evidence that would prove his innocence. “I could not testify in my defence (earlier) because I was not in possession of full disclosure,” he said. “When I got access (from current lawyer Denis Michel), I found a lot of mistakes (in the investigation).
“I found a lot of content missing, your Honour … I’m really asking for you to vacate your finding.”
Justice Bradley attempted to convince Albert there was a proper way to go about addressing the conviction and how the trial went. “There is a way, procedurally, to present your material to the court,” he told Albert. “At this point, we are dealing with sentencing.”
Albert, who became emotional at times and said he was tired of being painted as a bad person, claimed he has been attempting to fight child abuse for a long time because of what happened to him in his youth and he is doing so “to make sure no other child goes through this.”
When Albert finished, Justice Bradley announced he was reserving his sentencing decision. A date to give that decision could be set in video bail remand court Thursday.
Bradley convicted Albert in October possession of child pornography that Greater Sudbury Police found on a computer in his home the day after he was arrested for an attempted abduction of a teenage girl in front of his Paquette Street home in April 2019.
In her sentencing submission Tuesday, assistant Crown attorney Kaely Whillans sought a 3.5-year jail term for Albert and a lifetime listing on the national sex offenders’ registry. “Since this offence occurred, Mr. Albert has been convicted twice, both with sexual offences, and in relation to sexual offences against children,” she told Bradley.
Whillans said an aggravating factor was the quantity of child pornography found in Albert’s possession: 1,316 images and two videos that feature a wide variety of abuse, including bestiality and bondage against children, some of whom were babies. “The images and videos, your Honour, depict abhorrent abuse with children,” she said. “These children will continue to be emotionally and psychologically abused for the entirety of their lives.”
Whilans also said that Albert has zero prospect for rehabilitation, as he has no insight into his actions.
Michel, in his sentencing submission, said he was seeking a one-year consecutive jail sentence, or possibly even a one-year sentence concurrent to the five-year sentence Albert received last week for sexually assaulting a little girl more than a decade ago. “You can’t impose a sentence as punishment because Mr. Albert maintains his innocence,” the lawyer told Bradley. “You (also) have to look at (tdhe) totality of sentence … I would suggest a one-year sentence is appropriate here.”
Noting that Albert has been in custody for 2.85 years since his arrest in early April of 2019, Michel said that “if you impose a 3.5-year sentence, that will be 8.5 years (when a previous sentenced is taken into consideration). That would make it cruel and unusual. You have to look at the totality principle.”
Whillans countered that a one-year sentence would not be the proper penalty in the case. “This is a separate offence on a separate date,” she told Bradley, “The sentence has to be consecutive.”
Last Thursday, Superior Court Justice Erin Cullin issued Albert a five-year jail sentence. On Sept. 1 of last year, she convicted Albert of sexual assault and touching for a sexual purpose. He performed oral sex on a girl who was six or seven at the time.
Albert, 47, has been in custody since his arrest on April 4, 2019, for the attempted abduction on Paquette Street. He has pleaded not criminally responsible, saying he can’t remember what happened that day. A hearing on his plea will be held later this year. Albert was also convicted in the Ontario Court of Justice on Oct. 1, 2020, of sexual assault for an incident that occurred 30 years ago. He was issued an 18-month probation order that includes the condition he not be in the presence of persons under the age of 16 unless an adult is present.
Albert, meanwhile, will return to court on Feb. 10 for another historical sexual assault case involving two teen minors. Ontario Court Justice Robert Villeneuve has yet to announce his verdict. A date to give that decision could be set then.
He is accused of exposing himself to a boy and performing oral sex on a girl. Both allegations date back more than 10 years. Albert has pleaded not guilty.
