Jail makes it hard for Caza to find lawyer
A convicted sex offender’s 23-hour lockup at Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre doesn’t leave him enough time to hire a lawyer, a judge was told on Monday, Feb. 28.
David Caza appeared briefly in B.C. Supreme Court as he faces charges of possession of child pornography and luring a child.
He was arrested as part of a worldwide crackdown on what police have called a child sex-exploitation ring, which saw charges laid against more than 50 people in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
The 49-year-old has a criminal record, including convictions for sexual offences against children and possession of child pornography.
In court on Monday, Crown prosecutor Bernie Caffaro said there are some “practical problems” with Caza retaining a lawyer.
“He only has a small portion of the day where he’s able to make calls,” he said.
“The problem remains Mr. Caza is not represented and this matter has to be expedited in some way.
“He only has something like an hour out of the day to try to make contact with legal aid or try to do what he can to expedite that process.”
Caza said the 60 minutes he spends each day out of his cell isn’t always during business hours.
“It’s not only between 9 to 5 that I get my one hour,” he said.
“I’ve tried everything I could.”
Caza also said he feels like legal aid is unwilling to help him, given his reputation in Kamloops.
“It’s like they’re taking a personal view with me,” he said.
“They’ve done that for several years for me in this community.”
Caza’s matter was adjourned for two weeks.
He’s scheduled to return to court on March 14.
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