Confesses to child porn

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UPDATE 4:58 p.m.

Lt. Col. Doug McNair, a public affairs  officer with the Canadian Armed Forces tells Castanet that, "to the best of our knowledge with the information, I've been able to piece together over the last day or two we were not aware of the RCMP investigation and we are not aware of any complaints coming up on the military side of things." McNair says because he was not a member of the CAF at the time he was charged the investigation was completely under the jurisdiction of the RCMP.

Sean David Parker resigned his commission 2 weeks before he was charged with 3 counts of child pornography in November of 2018. McNair says, "that was when we became aware of the alleged behaviour."

According to the latest information, there is no military investigation into Parker's actions during his time in the military, however, "if anyone comes forward with information obviously that will be looked into. The decision to take away medals that someone has earned, risked their life to earn is not one we would take lightly it's a very difficult decision. His pleading guilty to charges is very serious but (taking away his medals) it's a road that a lot of thought has to go into and we're just not far enough down that path," says McNair. The CAF are working with the members of the BC Dragoons who served with Parker to ensure they get the support that they require and understand the resources that are available to them.

The former service member who spoke with Castanet on condition of anonymity also indicated he is no longer with the CAF and the individual who alleged rebuffing inappropriate advances never entered those claims into the legal proceedings or brought them forward to the military at the time.

UPDATE 10:50 a.m.

A service member with the Canadian Armed Forces who asked not to be identified tells Castanet he has knowledge of one complaint, involving a female subordinate and Sean David Parker that he came across some time ago. 

"He propositioned this woman for sex and when he was rebuffed, her life was made difficult," the person says.

The Canadian Armed Forces has taken steps to weed out sexual assault and misconduct in its ranks, releasing the Deschamps report in 2015 and starting Operation Honour the same year.  Operation Honour is intended to empower CAF members to take a stand against sexual misconduct and encourage exemplary conduct.

The service member Castanet spoke with said he knew the investigation into child pornography charges was underway while Parker was still Brigade Sergeant Major with 39 Brigade.

"I'm a service member and I do not care for the fact that the military is allowing him to leave quietly," the person said. "It means that he can still put his name down as Chief Warrant Officer, Retired, keep his medals. He can also move wherever he wants, where people don't know he's committed a crime and be able to use his (former rank and medals) for standing in the community.

"He committed a crime against the most vulnerable members of our society and to me it's unconscionable."

UPDATE 10:02 a.m.

Sean David Parker, who pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography Monday, was elevated to the position of Brigade Sergeant Major of the 39 Brigade Group, and as such, he was the second-highest-ranking non-Commissioned officer in the B.C. army before he resigned his commission in November of 2018.

The 39 Canadian Brigade Group recruits, trains, and retains soldiers and leaders to support both domestic and expeditionary operations.

The brigade group is made up of approximately 1,500 soldiers located in reserve units located in communities across British Columbia. Most of the soldiers in 39 CBG are reservists, serving part-time within their communities.

ORIGINAL 7:09 a.m.

Former Regimental Sergeant Major with the B.C. Dragoons, Sean David Parker, pleaded guilty Monday to possession of child pornography in a Kelowna courtroom.

Parker was based in Kelowna and was set to face trial starting Monday when he pleaded guilty to one count of possession.

Parker, 52-years-old, had been employed by the City of Kelowna as the Emergency Services Manager at Kelowna International Airport until November 2018.

Possession of child pornography carries a sentence between one and 10 years in prison. He's scheduled to be back in court on Jan. 23, 2020.