BATTLEFORD - The judge in the trial of man facing charges relating to his residence in Marshall where a home-based daycare used to also operate has reserved his verdict following the Crown and Defence closing arguments.
In Court of King's Bench in Battleford Thursday, Justice Grant Currie announced that he would reserve his verdict in the case until Nov. 27 at 1:30 p.m.
Joseph Sproull was arrested in September 2021 and charged with possessing, making and distributing child pornography, as well as sexual assault and sexual interference. He is currently out of custody on conditions.
A publication ban is in effect on identifying the victims and complainants in the case.
A total of one video and 488 pictures of child pornography were found on the accused's phone by police.
During Thursday's testimony, Sproull's wife Elizabeth Sproull took the stand.
To ensure the safety of the children attending the daycare, she said she had a doorbell camera and a child monitor in the playroom and sleep-room.
She noted that Joseph would not help in the bathroom duties; he only looked after making the kids' meals.
Elizabeth said she never saw any abuse in the daycare, and never saw her husband touch any of the children. She also said she never saw any child pornography on the accused's phone, which she used at times to text parents or to use the Kik app to talk to other people.
She said if she was aware that any children were abused in her home she would be "devastated."
"Those children were the world to me," Elizabeth said, wiping tears from her eyes.
When questioned by the Crown, she said she recognized the floor mats in one photo that were similar to those in the children's playroom.
She noted the rug in one picture looked similar to one in the bathroom of her home.
In making his closing argument in the case, Defence attorney Brian Pfefferle described the case as "an overwhelming circumstantial case," based on the evidence provided.
The only male staff in the daycare was Joseph Sproull. The volunteers who helped Elizabeth Sproull on occasion were all female.
Pfefferle said there appears to be sexual abuse to have taken place in a room in the house based on the type of flooring in the photo. In one photo, the accused's wife said she recognized the T-shirt worn by a child being abused that appeared to be the same as that of a child who attended her daycare.
The Defence added that police found child pornography on the accused's personal Samsung phone.
He indicated that the police expert who testified said the accused used a VPN on his phone to block his IP address, but he didn't use a password to lock his phone to block access to his phone that allegedly contained child abuse images.
In a sworn statement to the officer, the accused said it appeared someone was remotely accessing his phone. However, the officer said he has not seen anything else like that, from his experience.
Pfefferle said the accused described his reaction as "shock" to seeing the child abuse images on his phone.
Overall, the Defence said the accused should be found not guilty in the case.
For the Crown's case, prosecutor Andrew Clements said it's correct that it's a circumstantial case.
But he said there is strong evidence of the accused's guilt.
When the accused was banned from the app Kik, he wiped his phone to remove any child pornography on it, that he claimed was put onto his phone by a third party remotely.
When the child pornography was uploaded on Kik, the accused was banned from using the app.
Clements said all the evidence together points to the accused's guilt in the case.
The only other possible alternative would be that another man entered the house between Aug. 2020 and March 2021, and abused two children.
"That is not a reasonable alternative to [the accused being] guilty," the Crown said.
"There was only ever one male in the home when the children were present," Clements added.
The Crown said that the police expert saw child pornography on the accused's phone.
"Even if you believed [the accused], it offers zero evidence of how child pornography was on his device and was uploaded," Clements said.
He added the evidence in a photo appears to show the abuse was committed in the daycare's bathroom, based on the similarities to the flooring.
"I recommend to find him guilty on all counts," Clements said.
According to the previous police report, Joseph Sproull, of Marshall, was arrested in September 2021 and charged with possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, three counts each of sexual assault, sexual interference and making child pornography. Marshall is about 19 kilometres east of Lloydminster. RCMP previously stated that Sproull was residing at a home-based daycare at the time of the alleged offences.
