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	Youth Pastor Gets Six Years in Child-Porn Case By Chris Bristol Yakima Herald-Republic [Washington] October 19, 2006 http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/287297764450400 Jim Cannel could not hold back the tears as he tried to explain to a federal judge that he's not a predator, despite the way it looked. Here's the way it looked: youth pastor in Selah. Possession of child pornography. Camp counselor. Dirty talk online with someone in Seattle he knew as Tim. On his church computer. He thought Tim was 12. "Your honor, I'm totally appalled by my behavior," Cannel told U.S. District Judge Edward Shea on Wednesday. "I don't know why I didn't see it right away." "But I would never hurt a child. Never." To which Shea had this to say: "No man goes into a chat room called 'men4boys' unless he wants to have sex with boys." And with that, Shea proceeded to sentence Cannel, 45, to six years in prison, to be followed by sex-offender registration and three years of probation after his release from prison. The sentence wasn't the eight-plus years prosecutors wanted, but it was far more severe than the year and a day suggested by Cannel's attorney. Because of the Internet, cases similar to Cannel's have become more and more common, here and across the country. Published reports say federal authorities have identified 6.5 million pornographic pictures of children online over the past two years, up from 3,600 in 2003. Cannel is at least the seventh Yakima Valley man convicted on child-porn charges over that same period, including former Zillah teacher Ron Nash. Technically, Cannel's sentence was for possession of child pornography, the charge he pleaded guilty to in April. But it was his chat-room behavior that really got him in trouble. Cannel came to the attention of authorities on Feb. 9, 2005, when an undercover Seattle police detective posing online as a 12-year-old boy named Tim encountered the pastor in a Yahoo! chat room called "men4boys." After a series of chat-room sessions, Cannel sent a picture of his genitalia to "Tim" and said he wanted to arrange a meeting at a Seattle hotel. Days later, he was arrested at church. At his arrest, Cannel told investigators that he had between five and 10 pornographic images on the computer he kept at the church and admitted trading those images over the Internet. He soon resigned his position at Selah Covenant Church, where he had worked for four months. Detectives found 100 to 150 similar images on compact discs stored at his home. The pictures ranged from diaper-clad children to young teenagers, prosecutors said. Authorities initially released Cannel, who fled the area by the time a federal grand jury in May 2005 indicted him on charges of receiving and distributing child pornography and obscene material. After being on the run for two months, Cannel was arrested by U.S. marshals at a party in his hometown of San Mateo, Calif. In Wednesday's hearing, federal prosecutor Jill Bolton argued that Cannel is a predator who was grooming "Tim" for a sexual encounter. Although no victims of actual abuse have ever come forward, and Cannel's criminal record was clean, Bolton warned that it's not uncommon for victims to remain silent out of embarrassment. "There's a lot of victims we don't hear about," she said. Cannel's court-appointed attorney, Alex Hernandez, argued psychological testing had found Cannel was a low risk. Hernandez also noted Cannel has no history of violence or a history of substance abuse. "What Mr. Cannel did in this case is out of character for him," Hernandez told the judge. "He understands he's hurt his family. He's hurt himself. ... He made a terrible mistake." But, Hernandez added, "A long prison term in this case is not the answer." Shea was unconvinced, saying it was reasonable for prosecutors to be concerned about a single man in his 40s who trades child porn online and puts himself in a position of trust with children. Taken as a whole, the judge said, Cannel's actions are "those of a person who, regrettably, has decided to cross the line." Cannel had been free on his own recognizance. Despite a request to self-report, the judge had Cannel taken into custody on the spot. Chris Bristol can be reached at 577-7748 or at cbristol@yakimaherald.com
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