Chester, Nova Scotia — GN Thermoforming Equipment founder and former president, Georg Nemeskeri, 72, pleaded guilty to a charge of Possession of Child Pornography in Nova Scotia provincial court and was sentenced to two years in Canadian federal prison.
He also received a C$200 (US$153.70) victim fine surcharge and was ordered to submit a DNA blood sample to be kept on file with a government child abuse registry for 10 years following his release.
Crown Prosecutor Perry Borden and prominent Canadian criminal defense lawyer Joel Pink submitted a joint sentencing recommendation, accepted by Judge Paul Scovill.
Another charge of making available child pornography was withdrawn in part, Borden said, because proving distribution can be difficult, and because Nemeskeri had been cooperative and upfront since the investigation began in April.
Borden told Plastics News that more than 100,000 images of unclothed children under age 18 were discovered on Nemeskeri's computers and devices which were seized April 1 when he was arrested by members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at his Chester home. The equipment has been forfeited and will be destroyed. The prosecutor said that the pictures were considered “low-end” pornography depicting no sexual activity but had been gathered over a number of years.
“Basically, it was quite a collection he had,” Borden said, noting that the vast volume of illegal material warranted the lengthy prison time, rather than the minimum sentence of six months.
“I would like to say it's not that common [but] I'm not surprised when I see a senior on the files,” Borden said, adding that Nova Scotia prosecutors each year handle hundreds of child pornography possession cases mostly involving electronic transmission of material.
Shortly after Nemeskeri's arrest in April, he stepped down from his role as president and the post was filled by Bruce Kelley, then GN's general manager.
GN Thermoforming Equipment, which opened in 1981 as GN Plastics, manufactures roll-fed thermoformers for the production of plastic packaging and employs about 100 people, most at its Chester facility and a few in the company's service center in the Czech Republic.
Hungarian-born Nemeskeri and his father formed Chester Plastics Ltd. in 1969 after moving to Canada from Austria. That company was sold in 2001. Georg Nemeskeri was in 2002 named Leader of the Year by the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.