Former paramedic Todd Sawler sentenced for internet luring, child porn

A former paramedic wassentenced Tuesday to nearly 20 months in jailfor three sex-related charges involving children.

Todd Allen Sawler, 45, of Nine Mile River, pleaded guilty last summer to two counts of internet luring and one charge of distributing child pornography. The charges cover a period fromJune2015 toJanuary 2016. The jail sentence is in addition to the time he's spent in custody since his guilty plea.

At the time of his arrest, Sawler, posing as a 16-year-old boy,was following about 7,000 people on the social media site Instagram. Most of them were girls between the ages of 11 and 16.

• Todd Allen Sawler facing more sex-related charges involving children

Some parents in Nova Scotia and the United States discovered Sawler's internet ruse and contacted police. Two separate internet child exploitation teams began investigating Sawler.

Two officers responded tohim online, posing as teenage girls. Oneset up a meetingwith the man at a Halifax-area hotel.

"He asked her to come to the hot tub in the hotel and offered to pay for her cab," Crown attorneyPerry Borden said outside court.

"She had pretended that she didn't have the money and when officers actually went to the hotel, they sawMr. Sawler in the hot tub waiting for what he thought was the 14-year-old."

Images of neighbourhood children

Sawler was arrested a short time later. When police searched his computer equipment, they discovered child pornography and evidence he had shared images with others. They also found records of two communications Sawler had with people in Asia, discussing the possibility of having them abuse children online while he watched in real time.

"We have these live conversations where he's telling the mother of one girl is his preference is three to 11 [years of age], her daughter was eight years old," Borden said.

In addition to child pornography, Sawler also had images of children from his community. They were obtained fromsocial media sites like Facebook.

The mother of two of those children gave a victim impact statement at Sawler's sentencing.

"I was devastated, I was upset and I was angry," she said, describing her reaction to news that a man she trusted had pictures of her daughters.

Police asked her to review up to 25 images and identify her girls.

"It was the worst day of my life," she told the court.

"One of the hardest things I've had to do," she said. Her identity is protected by a publication ban to protect the identities of her children.

Blames trauma suffered on the job

Before his sentencing, Sawler also addressed the court, saying the things he'd seen during his 15 years as a paramedic left him battling depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I have witnessed tragic events that people cannot imagine," Sawler said.

He said his problems were compounded by a motorcycle accident which left him unable to work.

"I was weak and vulnerable and tempted by my own desires."

The court also heardSawler's marriage has collapsed since he was charged and he is now going through a divorce.

In addition to his jail sentence, Sawler must serve 28 months on probation. He must stay away from children and the internet andundergo counselling.