A 36-year-old Brantford man has been put on the sexual offenders list for the rest of his life after admitting to multiple offenses that involved underage girls.
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Cody Stewart sends lewd photos and messages to young teens and made indecent phone calls to others.
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“Mr. Stewart, you’ve got some issues,” said Justice Gethin Edward as he sentenced him recently for “despicable” offenses.
“I’m concerned as to whether you understand them and are getting appropriate treatment to deal with them because this is the second time you’ve been to court to deal with these types of offenses involving children.”
Edward said more is becoming known about the short- and long-term impact of sexual offenses against children.
“It’s chilling.
“It haunts me and it should haunt you too. You will serve your time and you’ll come out, hopefully a better person, but they may not.”
Several of Stewart’s victims read statements to the court, talking about missing school, falling behind on assignments and being forced to grow up too fast.
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“I will never trust a grown man again,” said one young teen.
“For the rest of my life I will do everything in my power to protect and warn my future children about men like you to save them from the nightmare I’ve been living the last two years.”
Another said the knowledge she’s gained about the legal system has inspired her to work for justice for kids in similar situations.
“Every child deserves to feel safe,” she said.
Some of the other victims declined to get involved in the case.
Stewart pleaded guilty to making indecent phone calls in 2015 and 2018; giving cannabis to a young person and two counts of making sexual material available to a young person in 2021; and breaching release orders in 2022.
Stewart was sentenced in 2016 on similar issues and still faces other unresolved charges from a northern jurisdiction, said his lawyer.
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Together, the lawyers worked out a proposal that Stewart would get credit for 15 months of time already served and a further 17 months in jail, leaving him eligible for a three-year probation order, the longest available to the court in a jail sentence.
Edward said judges look to the assistance of the lawyers involved in the case since they know the circumstances of the offenses better than a judge can.
“I know that’s difficult to explain to victims … I apologize to them that our system has got to the point that to move matters along we have joint systems that may or may not be acceptable to the court.”
The judge urged Stewart to use his jail time to reflect and said he hoped the victims felt their voices were heard.
@EXPSGamble
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