Child porn charges stayed against Maple Ridge man
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Updated: November 02, 2009 1:51 PM
A judge ordered a stay of proceedings Wednesday in the trial of a Maple Ridge man accused of possessing child pornography.
Shawn Alexander Rodeck was granted the stay after filing an application that argued his case had taken too long to come to court.
The 43-year-old was charged with the offence in June 2007.
Neil Mackenzie, spokesperson for the Criminal Justice Branch, said a judicial stay of proceedings was entered by the trial judge on the basis of an "excessive delay" in the matter coming to trial.
Rodeck has been monitored by police since he was first charged in 2003 with sexual interference and sexual touching of a person under 14 in Surrey. He was never convicted of the crimes, but instead agreed to be placed under a peace bond, which allowed police to monitor his movements until July 2005.
Police said Rodeck reappeared on their radar in April 2007 after a young man alleged Rodeck had solicited sex from him while on the Internet social networking site Nexopia. The victim picked out Rodeck from a photo line up.
The RCMP’s Integrated Child Exploitation Team continued to investigate him and two months later, in June 2007, Rodeck was allegedly found in possession of child pornography at Vancouver International Airport.
He was charged and released on bail, which included a condition that allowed police to check his computer.
Rodeck was arrested again in November 2007 after Ridge Meadows RCMP conducted a routine check of his house. Officers allegedly found him on a social networking website after they entered his Maple Ridge home.
Rodeck was charged with breaching his bail conditions, but has yet to face a trial.
