Former captain with Air Cadets found guilty of sexual offences involving children

WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing.

A former captain working with Air Cadets has been found guilty of all eight charges brought against him, including five involving sexual abuse against children and another three involving child pornography.

During his weeks-long trial earlier this year, Adrian Schmid pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At the heart of the trial were the testimonies of two young boys who claimed he touched them sexually — as well as photos police found of a third boy, who didn't provide testimony.

The identities of the witnesses and youths involved are protected under a publication ban.

The Superior Court of Justice also heard from one police officer who testified that more than 11,000 images and 140 videos of child pornography were recovered from a USB drive taken from Schmid's house.

The files — which showed youths engaging in a wide range of graphic sexual acts — had been deleted, but police were able to recover them after their seizure.

Altogether, four devices taken from Schmid's house included files later classified as child pornography.

In September, Schmid testified that he'd found the USB drive on the ground outside roughly 15 years ago.

He said he later used it for his own documents, believing it had been wiped.

Schmid had no account for other child pornography found by police, but suggested the boys could have been at fault. He also denied any sexual touching.

Justice found Schmid not to be credible

But in the courtroom Monday, Justice Pierre Roger said he rejected the idea put forward by the defence during closing submissions in October that the accused's evidence should leave the court with a reasonable doubt, despite suspicious circumstances.

"The allegations are many and serious," Roger said as he read aloud his decision.

In the end, the justice found that text messages between Schmid and one of the boys was strong evidence of grooming and an inappropriate relationship.

"Many of his explanations defy logic and common sense," the justice said, referring to Schmid. "Some gave the impression that they were concocted by the accused as he testified in an unconvincing attempt to explain the evidence."

Roger said he found Schmid not to be a credible witness. In contrast, he found the boys' testimony credible and reliable.

He found that while the two boys' testimonies didn't always match up, those gaps could be explained by their young age and that they were trying to force themselves to forget what had transpired.

Roger added that the evidence given also supports a finding that more sexual occurrences took place than just what was described during the testimony from the younger of the two boys.

"It was apparent from his testimony that he was still very much a child with a more limited understanding of what was occurring," Roger said.

Outside the courthouse, the family of two of the boys said they felt justice had been served and that a great weight had been lifted.

The father, speaking on behalf of his family, expressed hope that the older of his boys would be able to move forward following the decision.

"Relief," the father said. "For the past four years it was very hectic and now it's a relief. We can move on and start over."

No sentencing date was set, with the lawyers returning in early December to discuss a potential date.

Following the proceedings, Engel told CBC News he was not ready to make a statement regarding whether the decision would be appealed.

The Canadian Armed Forces told CBC News that Schmid — who had been serving as a cadet instructor cadre officer — was released from its reserve force in January 2023.