N.B. broadcaster guilty on child porn charge
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 | 5:07 PM AT
CBC News
A former New Brunswick broadcaster was found guilty Tuesday of accessing child pornography.
Dennis Melanson, 49, once hosted Melanson Live on Rogers Cable 10 in Fredericton and worked as radio station Fred FM's news director until he was charged with the offense in 2005.
Melanson had claimed that the images of children performing sexual acts that were found on his office computer at Rogers Cable were research for an upcoming story.
A police officer, who appeared on Melanson's television show on February 23, 2005, testified in provincial court that Melanson had told him he was considering doing a program on child pornography.
Melanson's research could have been considered educational up until that point, Justice Graydon Nicholas told the court when handing down his decision Tuesday, but his continued surfing for such images after that date and his conversation with the officer were excessive.
During the trial, the court heard how hundreds of child pornography website hits were found on Melanson's computer between January and April 2005.
Melanson's lawyer, Howard Peters, said he's not yet sure whether his client will appeal the conviction.
Share Tools
Latest New Brunswick News Headlines
- 'Unauthorized' pension change to be reversed
- Saint John's outgoing deputy mayor says an "unauthorized change" to the city's pension plan that would have benefitted the city's top earners if they retired early will be reversed. more »
- Fredericton invites citizens to weigh-in on new bylaw
- The City of Fredericton is inviting citizens to have their say on the municipality's new zoning bylaw. more »
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- Human Resources Minister Diane Finley announced details this morning about the government's planned changes to employment insurance that would tighten the rules for Canadians collecting the benefit. more »
- 8 views on EI changes: 'political football' or 'eHarmony'?
- Human Resources Minister Diane Finley released more details of the government's plans for reforming employment insurance Thursday. Here's a sample of the reaction. more »
Top News Headlines
- Quebec faces mounting pressure amid student crisis
- The morning after nearly 700 people were arrested in protests in Montreal and Quebec City, Jean Charest announced he has replaced his top aide with his former right-hand man. more »
- Conservatives move again to have robocalls suits tossed
- The Conservative Party has filed a second motion to dismiss the robocalls lawsuits filed by the left-leaning Council of Canadians, calling council chairperson Maude Barlow a 'virulent critic' of Prime Minister Stephen Harper who has 'orchestrated' the litigation. more »
- Suspect arrested in decades old N.Y. missing boy case
- A man has been arrested in the 1979 disappearance of a six-year-old New York City boy, in the first arrest ever made in a case that helped give rise to the nation's missing-children movement. more »
- Double-lung recipient Hélène Campbell dances for joy
- The Ottawa woman who has become Canada's best-known advocate for organ donation was happy, smiling and in great spirits today as she described her new life less than two months after receiving a double-lung transplant. more »
- Man dies after assault at house party
- 'Unauthorized' pension change to be reversed
- Workers' EI history to affect claim under new rules
- 300 litres of heavy water spilled at Point Lepreau
- Saint John managers ‘duped’ council, says deputy mayor
- Scrap metal plant sparks noise complaints
- Moose on the loose shot in Fredericton
- Food safety course necessary, trainer says
- Plastic bag fees should be legislated, council says
