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Toronto Sun
10 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
Child pornography collection was 'relatively modest' so no jail, judge rules
Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox A small collection of child pornography saved a B.C. man from jail. Getty Images/iStockphoto WARNING: Graphic details This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A British Columbia man scored the break of a lifetime on child pornography charges after a judge deemed his collection of filth 'relatively modest.' Mark Keenan, 54, was convicted on child pornography charges but will be allowed to serve his sentence in the community. He pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography in Kelowna provincial court. He was sentenced to two years less a day. For the first 18 months, he will be under house arrest. Afterward, he will have a 6 p.m. curfew. Keenan was arrested in 2018 after cops received information about his activities on social media website Tumblr. Investigators found six child porn images, depicting boys between the ages of nine and 16, on his devices. None of the images showed penetration, the court heard. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But the small number of images 'sets this case apart,' Judge Andrew Tam said. 'Although there is no strict mathematical relationship between the size of the collection and the length (or indeed type) of sentence, the size of a collection has often been held to be an aggravating factor,' Tam wrote in his decision. 'It stands to reason then that a modest collection, while not a mitigating factor, could nevertheless distinguish it from other cases.' One image pictured an adult male and a child victim with their hands on each other's genitals. For his part, Kennan insisted he was not sexually attracted to children. He had stumbled on the images in 2017 while trolling the web for 'sunsets and beaches.' He said he was appalled. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. His mission would be to lure pedophiles out of their caves on his Tumblr blog. Generous as he was on the sentencing, the judge did not believe him. The judge said Keenan held onto the images for more than a year and engaged in conversations with other users expressing an 'interest in sexual activities with children.' Tam wrote: 'They are unnecessarily graphic and go well beyond what one may expect in order to identify who may be a paedophile on the website. His participation in these conversations seems too genuinely earnest for it to be a ruse.' The judge found that, on the balance of probabilities, Keenan's sick collection and conversations pointed to a man looking to indulge in his own sexual gratification. Read More Tam added: 'The most damning evidence will come from Mr. Keenan's own mouth. Upon his arrest, he gave a voluntary statement to police. When confronted with the Tumblr messages and asked if he were aroused by them, he replied, 'I mean, in a way, it's hard not to be.'' But Keenan's 'relatively modest' collection, lack of a prior criminal record and supportive letters were mitigating factors in coming to his conclusions, Tam said. He will be on probation for a year after the end of his sentence. He also must submit a DNA sample. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun RECOMMENDED VIDEO NHL Celebrity Toronto Maple Leafs Music Editorial Cartoons
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
POISONOUS PRETTIES: Oldest profession rife with doping scams
Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox RAISIN KANE! Jessica Kane in an Instagram photo. The world's oldest profession has added a potentially deadly new kink to the hustle. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account One would-be Toronto John, trolling for threesome sex with a pair of escorts, was instead was drugged and robbed downtown. It's just the latest incident in a rash of heists where the client is lured to a hotel room, drugged and then robbed. A most unsatisfactory climax for sure. 'It's one of the oldest grifts in the book,' one law enforcement source said. 'Some guy wants to get laid and dials the wrong number and ends up with a blistering headache or worse, dead. Natalia Lis Pardinas Da-Hora, 27, of Mississauga, faces charges in the alleged drugging and robbing of an escort service client in Toronto on May 17, 2025. 'The problem is that the drugs being used by fake escorts are becoming increasingly dangerous.' According to cops, in the most recent incident on May 17, a john contacted one of the suspects on the sexual marketplace around 3:30 a.m. The working girls arrived at his residence in the area of Front St. W. and John St. where 'the victim ingested an unknown substance which was given to him by one of the suspects.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Toronto Police are seeking to identify this woman, the second suspect in an alleged drugging-robbery of an escort client on May 17 in Toronto. Photo by Toronto Police He lost consciousness. And when he woke up, he realized he'd been robbed and the poisonous party girls were long gone. Last Wednesday, detectives arrested Natalia Lis Pardinas Da-Hora, 27, of Mississauga, and charged her with trafficking, administering a noxious thing/intent to endanger life, robbery, and possessing proceeds of property obtained by crime over $5,000. Read More The second party girl is described as being in her mid-20s, with black hair and a thin build. She was wearing a beige top and bottom, and had tattoos on both shins with 'CASSIE' inked under her chin. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Investigators believe there may be more alleged victims. Katie Doyle. Photo by Toronto Police PARTY GIRLS 2.0 411: On Aug. 16, 2024, a wannabe swinger was given a pill that caused him to lose consciousness after hooking up with two escorts (again via When he came to, he realized his debit and credit cards had been stolen. The victim told detectives he was out like a light for a very long period. The two vixens allegedly spent around $20,000 on his dime. Detectives are hunting Alexandra Mellino, who is accused of being part of a honey trap scam. Photo by Toronto Police Katie Doyle, 24, of B.C., is charged with sexual assault, voyeurism, administering a noxious thing with intent, theft under $5,000 and two counts of fraud over $5,000. Cops say her alleged compadre, Alexandra Mellino, 25, of Alberta, has not been arrested. Investigators believe there were other victims. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Jessica Nicole Renee Kane has been accused by police of drugging and robbing men while working as an escort. She is pictured in a handout photo at the time of her arrest in Vancouver. Photo by Submitted CITIZEN KANE 411: Vancouver escort Jessica 'Citizen' Kane gets around. Kane, 32, pleaded guilty to theft in a doping and robbery scam. She copped to stealing $92,000 and a phone from six men. She was also charged with manslaughter in the drugging death of Dustin Lefebvre. For some bizarre reason, the Crown dropped the manslaughter charge and won't say why. QUOTE 'It seems like it isn't fair. It isn't fair. It's unfortunate. It seems like it's not the right system. There's something off.' – Lefebvre's brother, Alex Sherry Jessica Kane, 32, who was convicted of drugging and robbing clients in B.C. last summer, is now accused of an armed robbery in Vaughan on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. Photo by Handout / York Regional Police CITIZEN KANE 2.0 411: Kane was also busted in Alberta for similar doping and robbery charges that were later stayed. KILLER ESCORT: Alix Tichelman faces more legal woes in Atlanta. RAISIN KANE 411: Across the country in Vaughan, Jessica 'Citizen' Kane was charged earlier this year with armed robbery, forcible confinement and breach of probation. Cops allege a john met Kane and a dude named Mannan Khanna, 22, to arrange a tryst. They allegedly forced the victim at knifepoint to withdraw cash from ATMs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. KILLER ESCORT: Alix Tichelman faces more legal woes in Atlanta. SOUTH OF THE BORDER 1.0 411: Canadian escort Alix Tichelman was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in a Google exec's overdose death. Now, Georgia cops are investigating Tichelman in the overdose death of a man near Atlanta in 2013. She has been indicted for felony murder and distribution of heroin and oxycodone in the death of Dean Riopelle. She allegedly gave him the death shot. Footage of Danette Colbert luring sports reporter Adan Manzano into a New Orleans area hotel room. Twitter SUPER BOWL OF WOE 411: Three people were arrested for the shocking death of TV reporter Adan Manzano at the Super Bowl in New Orleans in February. Cops claim escort Danette Colbert (this wasn't her first rodeo) and two accomplices set up Manzano in his hotel room for a tryst and drugged him with Xanax and booze. He was found dead in the room. Cops allegedly found his credit card and phone at her home. Colbert is charged with second-degree murder and property crimes. FILE – This photo provided by Telemundo Kansas City shows television reporter Adan Manzano, a 27-year-old anchor and reporter for Telemundo in Kansas City, Missouri, who was found dead in his hotel room in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner during Super Bowl week. (Telemundo Kansas City via AP, File) AP She's serving a 25-year prison sentence for a slew of unrelated crimes. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun Sunshine Girls Sports Sunshine Girls World Columnists
Toronto Sun
5 days ago
- Toronto Sun
HUNTER: Almost all accused in Ontario online child luring sweep released
'Sexual offences — especially crimes against children — don't have penalties that accord with the actual damage done,' lawyer MacGregor said Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox Steven Catucci. 47, of Whitby, is charged with child luring following a probe by Durham Regional Police. Photo by Handout / Durham Regional Police 'A country, a movement, a person that does not value its youth and children doesn't deserve its future.' — Oliver Tambo This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account And Canada is just such a place if recent developments in the nation's courtrooms are any indication. On Thursday, with great fanfare, cops across the province announced they had arrested 36 men and hammered them with 128 charges as a result of an online child luring investigation. You can also toss in a slew of child pornography charges. Cops accessed online chat rooms and social media to ID the alleged perverts and put the 'cuffs on them. Good work, coppers! But what happened next is vomit-inducing. All except two of the suspected creeps were released on bail. You heard that right. As the Sun's Jane Stevenson reported, one of the accused allegedly arrived for their hoped-for tryst with an underage teen armed with snacks. Another brought a mish-mash of sexual paraphernalia. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. One of the accused is already on the National Sex Offender Registry. None of these men are babes in the woods: The undercover detectives posed as children online, and then they waited. As expected, the alleged pedophiles — or as the faculty lounge now calls them, Minor Attracted Persons — came like flies to feces. As part of the probe, cops rescued nine real victims. Kanav Bhatia, 24, of Toronto faces 11 charges in connection with a Peel police child luring and sexual assault probe involving two girls under the age of 16. Photo by Peel Regional Police But we should not be surprised by this latest outrage, according to Toronto criminal lawyer Monte MacGregor. 'Sexual offences — especially crimes against children — don't have penalties that accord with the actual damage done,' MacGregor told the Toronto Sun. 'These victims may be able to walk, talk and look like they have no issues on the outside, but inside they've been psychologically destroyed.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Among those arrested in the sweep was Steven Catucci, 47, of Whitby. DRPS alleged that Catucci thought he was talking to a 14-year-old girl. He then allegedly sent the teen sexually explicit images and arranged to meet in a Pickering park for sex. Kanav Bhatia, 24, of Toronto, was also ensnared in the spider's web. He allegedly lured and sexually assaulted two girls under the age of 16 in Peel. Cops say he used social media. He was also dinged with making child pornography. Taking the prize for the oldest charged was James Daw, 73, of Hamilton. Investigators say Daw allegedly communicated online with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl. His missives to the girl allegedly contained 'sexually explicit messages and images,' and she was asked to send him photos. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. James Daw, 72, of Hamilton, was arrested on child luring charges on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. Photo by Handout / Durham Regional Police Investigators allege the man communicated on Chat IW with the username 'JuniorJohnson.' According to MacGregor, the goal for judges is a 'categorical comparison of severity' and to find the true reflection of harm done. 'The potential for recidivism isn't always captured. Sexual offences of this repugnant nature really call into question whether this offender should ever be released and whether any punishment will modify his inherent behaviour to endanger young children.' He added, 'I'm not a psychiatrist, but in the legal field, you have to ask whether rehabilitation is ever likely to occur.' MacGregor noted that the Supreme Court of Canada has also called for increased penalties for crimes against children. 'These people have their wires completely disconnected, and there isn't any amount of psychotherapy or medicine that can be administered to rewire their cognitive deficiencies,' he said. 'Eternally damaged and horrifically dangerous.' The investigation continues. None of the charges have been tested in court. PERSONS CHARGED – PROJECT SILKSTONE bhunter@ @HunterTOSun Ontario Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Editorial Cartoons Celebrity
Toronto Sun
6 days ago
- Toronto Sun
HUNTER: Dope kingpin thought U.S. judges were like ours. He was wrong
Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox Khaophone Sychantha, 43, of Lakeshore, Ont., faces life in a U.S. prison. Convicted drug kingpin Khaophone Sychantha was 100% certain he didn't need a lawyer. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Hell, he didn't even need a defence. The way the 43-year-old Laotian-Canadian man sees it: He will be exonerated by appellate courts in Michigan. He argues he never should have been extradited to the U.S. in the first place. Sychantha wants the courts to kick his sentence to the curb. In a motion filed in April, the Windsor-area drug trafficker claimed he was … kidnapped from Canada and brought to the U.S. without an extradition hearing. The American and Canadian flags fly at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ont., on Feb. 9, 2022. Photo by GEOFF ROBINS / AFP via Getty Images The alumna of Homeland Security's 10 Most Wanted list appears geographically illiterate. His trial was held in Detroit. Not Vancouver. Not Toronto. Not Brampton. In those places, too many judges would have been ready, willing and able to swallow hook, line and sinker nearly any sob story before them. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Not so the United States. As reported by The Detroit News, Sychantha was sentenced to 20 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, Jr. said in a statement. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after his two-decade prison sentence. Following that, the States will deport him back to Canada. Lucky us. What Gorgon said (and it needs to be heard by every Canadian politician) is this: 'In order to be a nation, we must have secure borders. Americans need to be protected from transnational criminals dumping their dangerous drugs into our communities.' Amen. DIFFERENT BALL GAME IN DETROIT: OH OH: Khaophone Sychantha, 43, of Lakeshore, faces life in a U.S. prison. Sychantha was convicted in a jury trial last October of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, ecstasy, and N-benzylpiperazine, or BZP, possession of methamphetamine, ecstasy, and BZP with intent to distribute, and possession of ecstasy and BZP with intent to distribute after a six-day trial. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The convicted man has maintained his innocence. It truly is a travesty! Call Amnesty! And as if his kidnapping wasn't enough, Sychantha added he didn't have the mental capacity to conduct a proper defence without the assistance of a lawyer. He claimed (and I'm not kidding) that the court, by 'allowing him to represent himself, made a mockery of the judicial system.' Remember: He didn't want a lawyer. No, I would say it's our old friend Mr. Sychantha attempting to make a 'mockery' of the system. AMERICAN JUSTICE: Khaophone Sychantha, 43, of Lakeshore has been sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. prison. The feds alleged that the enterprising immigrant oversaw a massive dope peddling ring that transported pills from Canada into the U.S. Tens of thousands of dollars in illicit profit returned here over the Ambassador Bridge between 2003 and 2011. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He was arrested and indicted in 2005. Sychantha was then hammered with a superseding indictment in 2013. Of course, there were the entanglements with the Canadian justice system. Sychantha had been arrested and charged in three separate criminal cases here but got out of Dodge in 2014 while under, ahem, house arrest. He was accused of assaulting a cop in Montreal in 2017 and was arrested. Sychantha was extradited to Detroit in 2023. Read More 'This sentencing brings Sychantha's cross-border criminal enterprise to a fitting end,' said Jared Murphey, acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations' Detroit Office. 'ICE HSI will continue to collaborate with our partners to disrupt and dismantle international drug trafficking operations that seek to poison our communities.' Khaophone Sychantha did indeed need a lawyer. Or at the very least, a compliant Canadian judge who would have allowed him to skate one more time. For old times' sake. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Olympics
Toronto Sun
6 days ago
- Toronto Sun
HUNTER: Dope kingpin thought U.S. judges were like ours. He was dead wrong
Get the latest from Brad Hunter straight to your inbox Khaophone Sychantha, 43, of Lakeshore, Ont., faces life in a U.S. prison. Convicted drug kingpin Khaophone Sychantha was 100% certain he didn't need a lawyer. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Hell, he didn't even need a defence. The way the 43-year-old Laotian-Canadian man sees it: He will be exonerated by appellate courts in Michigan. He argues he never should have been extradited to the U.S. in the first place. Sychantha wants the courts to kick his sentence to the curb. In a motion filed in April, the Windsor-area drug trafficker claimed he was … kidnapped from Canada and brought to the U.S. without an extradition hearing. The American and Canadian flags fly at the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ont., on Feb. 9, 2022. Photo by GEOFF ROBINS / AFP via Getty Images The alumna of Homeland Security's 10 Most Wanted list appears geographically illiterate. His trial was held in Detroit. Not Vancouver. Not Toronto. Not Brampton. In those places, too many judges would have been ready, willing and able to swallow hook, line and sinker nearly any sob story before them. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Not so the United States. As reported by The Detroit News, Sychantha was sentenced to 20 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, Jr. said in a statement. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after his two-decade prison sentence. Following that, the States will deport him back to Canada. Lucky us. What Gorgon said (and it needs to be heard by every Canadian politician) is this: 'In order to be a nation, we must have secure borders. Americans need to be protected from transnational criminals dumping their dangerous drugs into our communities.' Amen. DIFFERENT BALL GAME IN DETROIT: OH OH: Khaophone Sychantha, 43, of Lakeshore, faces life in a U.S. prison. Sychantha was convicted in a jury trial last October of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, ecstasy, and N-benzylpiperazine, or BZP, possession of methamphetamine, ecstasy, and BZP with intent to distribute, and possession of ecstasy and BZP with intent to distribute after a six-day trial. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The convicted man has maintained his innocence. It truly is a travesty! Call Amnesty! And as if his kidnapping wasn't enough, Sychantha added he didn't have the mental capacity to conduct a proper defence without the assistance of a lawyer. He claimed (and I'm not kidding) that the court, by 'allowing him to represent himself, made a mockery of the judicial system.' Remember: He didn't want a lawyer. No, I would say it's our old friend Mr. Sychantha attempting to make a 'mockery' of the system. The feds alleged that the enterprising immigrant oversaw a massive dope peddling ring that transported pills from Canada into the U.S. Tens of thousands of dollars in illicit profit returned here over the Ambassador Bridge between 2003 and 2011. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He was arrested and indicted in 2005. Sychantha was then hammered with a superseding indictment in 2013. AMERICAN JUSTICE: Khaophone Sychantha, 43, of Lakeshore has been sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. prison. Of course, there were the entanglements with the Canadian justice system. Sychantha had been arrested and charged in three separate criminal cases here but got out of Dodge in 2014 while under, ahem, house arrest. He was accused of assaulting a cop in Montreal in 2017 and was arrested. Sychantha was extradited to Detroit in 2023. 'This sentencing brings Sychantha's cross-border criminal enterprise to a fitting end,' said Jared Murphey, acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations' Detroit Office. 'ICE HSI will continue to collaborate with our partners to disrupt and dismantle international drug trafficking operations that seek to poison our communities.' Khaophone Sychantha did indeed need a lawyer. Or at the very least, a compliant Canadian judge who would have allowed him to skate one more time. For old times' sake. bhunter@ @HunterTOSun Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Olympics
