Cameron Ortiz, a former RCMP operative who was convicted late last year of leaking classified information to a police subject, will learn his fate after an Ontario Superior Court judge handed down his sentence late this morning. become.
The Crown is seeking a heavy sentence of two consecutive terms totaling 28 years’ imprisonment, saying it is commensurate with his crimes.
At last month’s sentencing hearing, Crown prosecutor Judy Kriewer told Judge Robert Marenger that the Crown’s proposal was “not only an appropriate sentence, but a necessary one.”
Meanwhile, the defense argued that the former civilian member of the RCMP should not serve another day in jail because of the hardships he endured while in custody awaiting the start of his trial.
Defense attorney John Doody said last month that “no inmate has ever experienced the kind of suffering that Mr. Ortiz has suffered.”
Ortiz, 51, was found guilty in November on all six charges, including violating the Canadian Secrets Act.
Crown prosecutors successfully alleged that Ortiz used his position within the RCMP (he led a unit with access to Canadian and allied intelligence agencies) to leak classified information to police targets in early 2015. insisted.
The jury found that Mr. Ortiz was the chief executive officer of Phantom Secure, Mr. Vincent Ramos, who sold encrypted cell phones to members of organized crime, and Salim, a police officer suspected of being an agent of international money.・The court found Mr. Henare and Mr. Muhammad Ashraf guilty of leaking special business information “without authority.” Laundering networks linked to terrorists.
The 51-year-old was also found guilty of attempting to leak information to Farzam Mehdzadeh. One RCMP witness said at Ortiz’s trial that he believed Mehdizadeh was working with “the most important money launderer in the world.”
Defense says Ortiz ‘lost everything’
Kriewer argued that a more lenient sentence would send a signal to allies that Canada cannot protect sensitive information. Canada has been committed to sharing and protecting pooled information as part of the Five Eyes alliance with the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia.
“If the consequences imposed today are not significant, that promise to our partners will be hollow,” Kliwer said.
Defense attorneys told the judge that Ortiz had been in solitary confinement and lockdown for three years while he was in custody awaiting trial.
Doody said Ortiz “lost everything” including his job, friends and savings.
The defense submitted more than 20 letters of support, including one from Michael Kovrig, one of two Canadians held in China for almost three years. . Kovrig, who spent more than 1,000 days in solitary confinement, said someone like Ortiz with “high intelligence and … curiosity” “should not rot in solitary confinement as a deterrent.”
Mr. Marenger will begin delivering his sentencing at 10 a.m. ET in Ottawa.
