Bill Surkis, the former director of B'nai Brith Quebec shown here at an earlier court appearance, had argued the images on his computer were for research purposes.(CBC)A Montreal judge has sentenced Bill Surkis, former director of B'nai Brith Quebec, to 45 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to child pornography charges.
Surkis, 71, will serve his time on weekends, Justice Céline Lamontagne ruled in Quebec Superior Court in Montreal on Thursday.
After the sentencing hearing, Surkis left the courthouse with his wife, promising to report Saturday to a provincial jail for his first weekend behind bars.
In May, Surkis agreed to a plea bargain in which he pleaded guilty to possessing and accessing child pornography.
He admitted to downloading about nine hours of videos of sexual acts involving girls under the age of 16, saying he did it because he was curious.
As part of the deal, the Crown dropped a charge of distributing child pornography.
The 45-day sentence, recommended by the defence and the Crown, is the minimum allowed under the law.
Surkis low risk to reoffend: report
In 2008, explicit files were discovered on Surkis's computer when he brought it in for repairs.
The technician found 86 videos and 153 photos, including images of girls aged six to 12 years.
Surkis's lawyer said in November 2009 that the videos were downloaded for research reasons.
On Thursday, the judge decided not to add Surkis's name to the national sex offender registry.
A pre-sentencing report suggested Surkis was a low risk to reoffend.
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