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Steroid Dealer Sentenced to 33 Months in Prison with Slap on Wrist for Child Porn

The owner of an illicit underground steroid laboratory in Canada was sentenced to 33 months in prison on various steroid-related charges that involved importing, smuggling, possession, exporting, producing, and trafficking anabolic steroids. Under the “proceeds of crime” legislation in Canada, Kevin Wayne Tanner of Illusion Labs forfeited $16,576 Scotia McLeod investment account, $35,485 and $9,210 in cash in Canadian and U.S. currency, respectively. The government also seized Tanner’s home even though his parents provided $58,500 for the down payment on the Bridgewater home; the government also took possession of a 2005 Pontiac Pursuit even though it was purchased for a former girlfriend. In addition, Tanner owes the Canada Revenue Agency over $50,000 on the proceeds of his illegal steroid business. Canada Revenue is assessing GST (Goods and Services Tax) and HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) as if Illusion Labs were a legitimate business.

During the course of the 15-month investigation of Illusion Labs, a forensic analysis of a computer hard drive seized from Tanner’s residence uncovered 638 photographs and two videos depicting child pornography in addition to another 73 photographs on removable media. Tanner’s defense attorney Alan Ferrier made an extremely weak attempt to explain the discovery of child pornography: Tanner had downloaded the images during “a very short period” of curiosity about child porn; furthermore 150 photographs were duplicates and only a few of the children were engaged in explicit sexual acts.

There is the expectation that sentencing should be commensurate with the seriousness of the crime and the harm caused by the crime. Therefore, one would expect harsh sentencing for a child pornography conviction from Judge Anne Crawford especially given the draconian sentencing for Tanner’s steroid-related crimes. Instead, Judge Crawford gave Tanner the proverbial “slap on the wrist” for his brief indulgence into child pornography. Tanner was sentenced to only two months imprisonment for child porn crime. The two-month sentence was not even added onto the end of his steroid-related sentence; Tanner was permitted to serve the child porn sentence concurrently. The possession of child pornography was not deemed as serious a crime as the distribution of anabolic steroids.

The Canadian government’s harsh sentencing in the case of Kevin Wayne Tanner sets a strong precedent for the seriousness of steroid distribution and trafficking in Canada. Steroid possession may be legal in Canada and harm reduction policies may be favored over the prohibitionist strategies in the United States but Canada believes steroids represent a serious threat to society nonetheless. On the other hand, the government all but dismissed the harm caused by caused by possession of child pornography. The Canadian government, or at least Judge Anne Crawford, disturbingly believes that anabolic steroids represent a greater threat to society than child pornography. Judge Crawford only expressed disappointment in court about Tanner’s involvement in an illegal steroid business.

"I don't envy you your position before the court today and what you're facing. For a young man who had such a brilliant future ahead of him to have destroyed it in this way for what I can only say was short-term gain is a very sad thing for this court to behold," Judge Crawford lectured Tanner. "You have a lot of talents and I believe you can rise again from this and become a responsible member of society."

The harsh steroid sentencing can be seen as a consequence of a global war on anabolic steroids, spearheaded by the United States, which seeks to demonize and criminalize steroids. But it is difficult to understand how steroid-related crimes can be seen as more harmful than child pornography.

One line of reason might suggest that the harm caused by child pornography is indirect and/or abstract since the simple act of downloading child pornography does not mean that the individual necessarily produced, profited from or stimulated demand for illicit pornography. In other words, the individual who has accessed the pornography has not done direct harm to the children depicted in the images.

This belief is contrary to the prevailing legal opinions about child pornography in several countries, including the United States. This line of reasoning is outlined in the Adam Walsh Act, "Every instance of viewing images of child pornography represents a renewed violation of the privacy of the victims and a repetition of their abuse."

The misplaced priorities in the criminal justice system are highlighted by the disparity in sentencing of Kevin Wayne Tanner on anabolic steroid charges and, separately, on child pornography charges. Tanner’s illegal underground steroid lab was the subject of a 15-month investigation involving Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), local Canadian Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP); Illusion Labs was also targeted by law enforcement in the United States including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Federal agencies in at least two countries spent untold amounts of money to prosecute Tanner on steroid charges.

The prosecution related to child pornography charges was almost an afterthought. The illegal images were accidentally discovered and the Court felt it only deserved a two-month concurrent sentence which did not effectively add any time to Tanner’s 33-month steroid-related imprisonment.

The Canadian criminal justice system needs to objectively re-evaluate the relative harm involved with the possession of child pornography compared with the distribution of anabolic steroids and adjust the sentencing accordingly.

Sources

“Steroids dealer sent to prison,” February 17, 2009

“Illicit Steroid-Producing Labs Find it Impossible to Hide,” February 2, 2009

“Steroid lab made at least $200000, paper trail shows,” January 15, 2009

"H.R. 4472 — Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006" (pdf). Legislative Notice. U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee. 2006.

By Millard Baker

http://www.millardbaker.com

www.SteroidsRx.com