Hoarder amassed huge child-porn collection - Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

By: Mike McIntyre

Posted: 09/30/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: (including replies)

A Winnipeg child pornography collector was a physically disabled "hoarder" who spent up to 16 hours online each day and didn't leave his trash-filled home for nearly four straight years.

But Kenneth Kreton was planning to emerge from seclusion in the weeks preceding his 2009 arrest, court heard Thursday. Police intercepted computer chats in which he told other like-minded deviants about his desire to travel to Spain, abduct a young boy and serve as his "master."

Police, acting on a tip from U.S. officials, moved in and uncovered one of the largest stashes of child pornography in the city's history. Kreton, 61, had amassed more than 17,000 im ages and 200 explicit videos of children as young as four years old being sexually abused, tortured and degraded.

"You're wrecking my life, leave me alone," Kreton told officers who arrived at the door of his Charleswood home armed with a search warrant. "I just look at pictures of kids, I don't touch kids."

Kreton pleaded guilty on Thursday to several offences, including possession and distribution of child pornography. Crown and defence lawyers have made a joint recommendation he be sentenced to 19 months of time already spent in custody, plus three years of supervised probation. Provincial court Judge Mary Curtis has reserved her decision until next month to further consider the plea bargain.

Crown attorney Terry McComb said this case presents some unique challenges for the legal system because it is clear Kreton is suffering some form of mental illness. Kreton has no prior criminal record and worked as an alarm company supervisor before health problems, including cerebral palsy and colitis, left him housebound and "socially isolated," court was told. He was also sexually abused and controlled when he was a teen, mostly by older boys, which contributed to his distorted way of thinking.

"The Internet became his social world," said McComb. "He would spend an extremely inordinate amount of time on his computer. He lived like a hoarder."

Police discovered Kreton living in a home that was filled with trash, top to bottom. The residence was also infested with mice and several types of bugs and was littered with human and animal feces, court was told.

Kreton admitted he hadn't stepped outside his door in nearly four years. He would order groceries online, along with numerous homeopathic medications he was using. Nothing seemed to be working, given the "soccer-ball" sized lump on his stomach police found, courtesy of an untreated hernia.

"He admits to talking online to people about molesting children and tha t he admits he finds kids cute," said McComb. "But there is a total lack of understanding... he just does not get it with respect to the harm being caused to children."

Police first began investigating Kreton in September 2009 following a tip from investigators in Boynton Beach, Fla. He was caught in an online chat and "file sharing session" with an undercover officer who was sent 34 child-porn pictures and a video. A second, more extensive investigation began in December when police officers learned Kreton had created an account on a dating website specializing in "bondage, domination, sadism and masochism." He was also exchanging emails with a website that features child-porn stories.

The most disturbing find was a series of emails between the accused and a young man in Spain named Peter. Kreton wrote about his intent to live with this man in Spain and talked about buying a cage for their home. He said he would not mind seeing Peter have sex with other children and asked if Peter would want to keep a younger teen as well. He referred to himself as Master and to Peter as his boi.

www.mikeoncrime.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 30, 2011 A10