Sentence for abuse is a disgrace

Ontario Justice John McGarry does not seem to have grasped the enormity of the crime committed by the St. Thomas father who sexually assaulted his 4-year-old daughter live on the Internet.

The father, who is not named to protect the identity of his child, pleaded guilty in October to seven criminal charges, including sexual assault and making, possessing and distributing child pornography.

Last week, McGarry sentenced the 39-year-old man to four years in prison.

Since the father has already served 28 months in prison, he has only about 20 months to go.

This man was part of an international ring whose members would make appointments to watch, in real time, a child being sexually abused.

The 4-year-old girl was one of an unknown number of children subjected to online abuse, for paid viewing by hundreds of pedophiles around the world. According to police, the victims ranged from babies to young teenagers.

The St. Thomas man was discovered when the international pedophile ring was infiltrated by British police, acting on a tip from Canada. The ring's kingpin, 28-year-old British brewery worker Timothy Cox, was convicted and sentenced, this summer, to four years and eight months.

But Cox - unlike the Ontario man - was also given an indeterminate sentence. He can go free only when he is no longer considered a danger. We have commented before on the mysterious shortness of sentences for violence, including sexual assault, against children.

This sentence, too, is both a mystery and a disgrace.