Canadian spy sentenced to 14 years in prison

A person who used to work for the Canadian national police has been sent to prison for 14 years for sharing secret information with people who are believed to be criminals.

The prosecutors said that Cameron Ortis, who is 51 years old, gave secret government information to criminals who work together in a group.

Ortis said no and explained that he was working secretly to stop a big danger to Canada.

He was found guilty in November after a trial that lasted for eight weeks at a court in Ottawa.

On Wednesday, Judge Robert Maranger said that Ortis will serve seven more years in prison, taking into account the time he has already spent behind bars.

This was the first time that Canada’s new spy law was used in a trial.

The lawyers wanted Ortis to go to jail for 28 years because they believe that a shorter sentence would show other countries that Canada can’t keep important information safe.

But his lawyers said he should only be in jail for seven years because he already spent three years in jail waiting for the trial.

Lawyer Jon Doody said that his client lost everything during that time, such as his job, friends, and savings.

Judge Maranger said that the 14-year sentence is a fair and suitable amount of time.

He said it considers his bad deeds and the tough conditions Ortis faced in prison, including being kept alone during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ortis was taken by the police in 2019 and accused of breaking six laws, including ones about keeping the country safe. He was proven to have done the bad things he was accused of.

When he was arrested, he was in charge of the National Intelligence Coordination Centre, which is a part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It deals with important information and intelligence within the organization.

He got permission to have access to important information when he started working for the RCMP in 2007 as a civilian.

Prosecutors said Ortis used his job to give secret information in 2015 to three people in a group that launders money internationally, and to a man named Vincent Ramos.

US authorities had linked the mobile security company Ramos ran to drug traffickers and organized crime members in the past.

Ortis asked Ramos for almost $27,500 in exchange for giving him information about police activities, but there is no proof that he actually got any money.

In court, Ortis said he gave out secret information on purpose as part of a plan to trick people into using encrypted email so that security agencies could read their messages.

His lawyers said he did what he did to deal with a serious danger to Canada that had to be dealt with.

The prosecutors said that he shared the information on purpose without his boss’s permission. They said there is no record of his mission in the RCMP archives.

“His story was just a lie to make you think his selfish criminal acts had a noble and secret reason,” said prosecutor Judy Kliewer in court.