A one-time Hay River track star pleaded guilty to several child pornography-related charges in NWT Supreme Court in Yellowknife on Nov. 20.
Joel Gordon, 23, was not in court when the pleas to distributing child porn, child luring and extortion were entered by Yellowknife lawyer Jay Bran. Gordon, who won a silver medal for the NWT at the Canada Summer Games in 2013, was originally charged in January of 2016. According to Crown prosecutor Morgan Fane there are six young female victims whose names are protected by a publication ban.
He said part of Gordon's bail conditions stipulate he live with his family in Edmonton. Gordon is also prohibited from possessing any electronic device that connects to the Internet. Gordon is expected to be in court on Jan. 8 when he will be sentenced by judge Karan Shaner. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail.