A Victoria real estate agent has been accused of child pornography offences.
Scott Garman, an agent with the Garman Group, has been charged with making or publishing child pornography and another count of importing/distributing child pornography.
Each charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to 14 years and a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of one year.
The offences occurred on May 4, according to court documents. Garman has had several procedural appearances at the Victoria courthouse since August and his next scheduled court date is Nov. 24. At that time, the accused is scheduled to choose his mode of trial – either by just a judge or a jury.
The Garman Group website was down as of Thursday morning (Nov. 10).
The B.C. Financial Services Authority, which regulates and licences real estate professionals, told Black Press Media that Garman’s licence is currently inoperative. His brokerage surrendered his licence on Nov. 2.
Real estate agents in B.C. must be licenced by the BCFSA and be engaged by a real estate brokerage. If a brokerage decides that it no longer wishes to engage with an individual, it must return that individual’s licence to BCFSA – which is what happened in Garman’s case.
“Garman is no longer engaged at a brokerage and, as a result, cannot provide real estate services to any member of the public,” the services authority said.
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