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Shawn Nickerson has been sentenced to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to 32 charges – including voyeurism, making and possessing child pornography and sexually touching a young person.
In a Moncton courtroom on Friday afternoon, the Crown painted a picture of crimes spanning as far back as 2016.
Through the years Nickerson used a handful of “spy cameras” hidden in washrooms and changerooms to record unsuspecting boys – often when naked.
There are 21 known victims.
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Thirty-two-year-old Nickerson took the images he captured to the dark web – where the Crown says the images where “traded like cards.”
Crown prosecutor Malika Levesque said Nickerson was exchanging child pornography and tips for staying close to his victims with others online. He told these people he was “obsessed” with two of his victims, boys he’d known for years.
Sitting in the courtroom in all-orange, Nickerson spent most of Friday staring at the floor. He spoke briefly in the morning.
“I’m truly sorry for what I’ve done,” he told Judge Paul Duffie.
“As tough as it is for me to admit to, I know I have a problem. And it is one I’ve struggled with since I was young.”
Hardest part is knowing he’s a source of so much disappointment, heartbreak and anger, he said while crying. Nickerson said he’s lost so many people and he’ll never get them back.
“I’d do anything to undo what I’ve done, but I realize the damage has already been done,” he said.
Previous court documents suggested Nickerson was charged for incidents that occurred between June 20, 2016 and Oct. 25, 2020. The documents alleged there were more than 80 instances of Nickerson making child pornography of identified persons, and a least another eight of unknown individuals.
Nickerson was first charged with one count of making child pornography in October, but Crown prosecutors announced an additional 30 charges in early November, including making and possessing child pornography and making child pornography available. Those charges were replaced with new ones.
Nickerson appeared in court in early December and was additionally charged with one count of sexual assault for incidents that allegedly occurred between December 2018 and June 2019.
He pleaded guilty to all 32 charges back in February.
At 3:15 p.m. on Friday, Judge Duffie sentenced Nickerson to nearly a decade in prison. He will also spend the rest of his life on a sex offender registry and will have to submit DNA samples.
“He was right when he said that this is a harm that can not be reversed,” said Duffie in court.
His sentence starts Friday and is not retroactive to the time he’s been remanded since October.
After his time in in, Nickerson will face lifetime prohibition from places like playgrounds, parks, and anywhere where people under 16 is present. He’ll have to stay at least two kilometres away from his victims and their families, make no contact with them and only use internet access when approved by court.
Nickerson said he understood and had no questions.
The crown had said his young victims will have to live with shattered trust and feelings of violation for the rest of their lives.
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