The former vice-principal of an Abbotsford middle school was formally found guilty on Friday (Feb. 11) of two child pornography offences.
Mike Haire was convicted in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver of making child porn available and possessing child porn.
A pre-sentence report with a psychological component has now been ordered, and Haire’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 16 in New Westminster.
Haire was an administrator at W.A. Fraser Middle School when he was charged in September 2018.
His trial began in May 2021 with a voir dire (a trial within a trial) to argue whether Haire’s charter rights had been breached when a search warrant was granted and executed at his residence in September 2018 and whether the subsequent evidence should be allowed in court.
RELATED: Defence wants evidence tossed out for former Abbotsford vice-principal charged with child porn
Defence lawyer Vincent Michaels argued that the warrant to search Haire’s home had been granted based on incomplete information provided to the issuing justice by the primary investigator, Det. Keith Nugent. Michaels said any evidence that resulted from the warrant should not be admissible in court.
The investigation began after a six-second video file containing child sexual abuse was uploaded from a cellphone to Instagram. The customer connected to the IP address was confirmed to be Haire.
The execution of the search warrant resulted in the seizure of 26 electronic devices. Images and videos constituting child sexual abuse were found on six of the devices or hardware seized, the court was previously told.
RELATED: Former Abbotsford vice-principal charged with child porn had charter rights breached, judge rules
Crown lawyer Dorothy Tsui argued that the evidence should be admissible, saying the severity of the charges outweighed the severity of any breaches.
Justice Heather MacNaughton ruled in July that the search warrant had been invalidly issued and Haire’s charter rights had indeed been breached.
In December she ruled that, despite the breach, she would allow the evidence, saying “the strong public interest in the adjudication of this criminal trial on its merits weighs strongly in favour of the admission of the evidence.”
But a formal conviction was delayed until Friday, when the defence called no further evidence and MacNaughton found Haire guilty of both offences.
RELATED: Judge rules evidence admissible in child-porn case involving former Abbotsford vice-principal
vhopes@abbynews.com
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