Preston Cory Dickins is attempting to contest a 12-year sentence, in Canada, for what a judge characterised as the “horrific” and “disturbing” sexual assault of a young child will have the support of a court-appointed attorney, as per a recently issued ruling.
In 2023, Preston Cory Dickins was convicted of sexual assault, sexual interference, solicitation of sexual contact, production of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. The British Columbia Court of Appeal adjudicated his petition for a court-appointed attorney on Friday.
The charges were to Mr. Preston Cory Dickins’ engagement with a kid under his care as a babysitter. The appellate court ruling stated that he was found guilty of repeatedly committing egregious sexual abuse against the youngster over an extended duration.
Upon arrest, Mr. Preston Cory Dickins was found in possession of a mobile device with 23 photos, including one video, depicting sexual interactions with the youngster. The device contained over 3,400 photographs of child exploitation featuring additional minors.
Preston Cory Dickins requested the high court to appoint legal counsel to contest both the guilty verdicts and the sentence rendered following a judge-alone trial.
He contended that his convictions should be annulled on several reasons, including a miscarriage of justice, violations of his Charter rights, and ineffective assistance of counsel. Preston Cory Dickins’ appeal contended that he was not afforded the time to submit all evidence that substantiated his accusations and may show reasonable doubt over his culpability.
The appellate court’s ruling encapsulated the essence of the defence presented by Preston Cory Dickins during the trial.
“Mr. Preston Cory Dickins does not deny there was activity of a sexual nature involving the child. Indeed, that activity was captured in still photos and a video, and he has admitted taking some of the photos and making the video,” the appeal court decision said.
“His position at trial was that the child initiated the contact and what occurred with her was essentially beyond his control.”
The victim was between eight and ten years old when the abuse took place. This defence, according to the appeal decision, was bound to fail regardless of what evidence Preston Cory Dickins put forward.
“At law, he was the one responsible for preventing sexual contact with the child,” the decision said.
The appeal court found there was “no realistic possibility of success on the appeal from conviction” and declined to appoint a lawyer for this purpose.
Preston Cory Dickins was 30 years old when he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and had no criminal record. The nature of the abuse and the impact on the victim were considered aggravating when the sentence was handed down.
“The judge described the material on Mr. Preston Cory Dickins’ mobile device as showing ‘horrific acts of sexual violence.’ Mr. Preston Cory Dickins was in a position of trust when he offended. The judge found that he committed ‘hundreds of acts of sexual violence on [the child] over a one-and-a-half-year period,’” the appeal decision said, describing the lower court’s decision.
“The offences were ‘significantly and negatively impacting’ on (the victim), ‘even years later, and will likely continue to do so for some period of time.’ She was ‘subjected to extensive intrusions to her bodily integrity;’ the ‘acts of violence were often painful;’ and the sexual abuse included ‘disturbing acts of degradation.’”
On appeal, Preston Cory Dickins argued there were mitigating factors that were not properly considered – specifically, his willingness to plead guilty on the child pornography charges and background information and reference letters that were relevant but not put before the court.
“There is some indication, at least at this stage, that one or more choices made at the trial on the advice of counsel may have deprived Mr. Dickins of mitigation at sentencing that arguably could have affected the sentence,” the appeal court decision said, adding that Crown did not disagree on this point.
A court-appointed lawyer will assist Preston Cory Dickins in putting forward the sentence appeal, despite the appeal court noting the case is “not strong.”
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