Man convicted in child porn case alleges abuse in custody, asks for stay

TORONTO – A man found guilty of making and distributing child pornography is asking for a stay of his conviction after alleging he was abused while in custody.

Brian Way made the allegations at a recent sentencing hearing in Toronto, where he testified about being made to strip and “pirouette like a ballet dancer,” left naked in a cell, punched in the face by a guard and “sexually assaulted” by a court officer.

“Someone needs to be held accountable for what happened to me. I didn’t provoke, I didn’t do anything. These things happened strictly because of my charges,” Way said in court.

“I don’t think I deserve to spend one more day in jail.”

The allegations — which have not been proven in court — relate to the first few days of Way’s time in custody, in May 2011.

If he isn’t granted a stay of conviction, Way is asking for a reduced sentence that would be equivalent to the time he has already spent in custody.

Way was arrested in a massive investigation that led to more than 300 arrests in Canada, the United States, Mexico and other countries.

He was convicted last year on 15 charges related to more than 170 films he sold online through a company called Azov Films.

During Way’s trial, his lawyer argued the movies weren’t sexual but depicted the nudist lifestyle by showing boys engaging in various activities while nude.

Prosecutors argued Way knew he was making child pornography and argued the movies were made for a sexual purpose.

During a sentencing hearing, the Crown suggested Way was putting up an act and questioned why he brought up his allegations of mistreatment five years after the alleged incidents took place.

“Mr. Way you’re willing to lie to this court to get what you want,” Crown attorney Jennifer Strasberg suggested.

But Way said he was speaking out because nobody deserves the treatment he went through.

“I feel awful about what I did, my crimes, but that …doesn’t give the government or the state the right to subject me to what happened,” he said.

“I never knew there was an appropriate time to bring this forward.”

Among his allegations, Way claimed he was mistreated by a court officer at a Toronto courthouse. He alleged the officer tripped him, called him “sick,” and punched him in the testicles during a pat down search — an action Way called a sexual assault.

Later, when he was brought to the Metro Toronto West Detention Centre, Way alleged he was beaten up by two inmates while a guard was nearby and did nothing.

It was also at the same detention centre that Way claimed he was put through an unusual and troubling strip search in the hallway of a medical segregation unit.

Way alleged one guard asked him to strip down and “twirl” while another looked on.

“I didn’t do it at first because it was an odd request to me, and then he said, ‘like a ballet dancer,'” Way recalled. “It’s humiliating. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s unexpected. I did what I was told.”

The guard who demanded the search then spoke to Way, he recalled.

“He said ‘you’re going to be raped and killed in prison.’ This is verbatim because it’s something I will never forget,” Way said.

Way also recounted for the court how he was left naked for hours in a cell which had no mattress, blanket, pillow or running water.

Later on, he alleged he was also told to strip before a female guard and punched in the face by a supervisor.