Niagara Falls man, ex-wife jailed after child porn discovered in rafters of Hamilton home

A disturbing discovery in the basement of a Hamilton home has resulted in a 10-year jail term for a Niagara Falls man convicted of several child-sex related charges.

In November 2020, a Hamilton man called police after he discovered three photo albums of suspected child pornography and two compact discs inside a plastic bag hidden in the ceiling rafters of his basement.

The photo albums contained numerous images of young children in various states of dress and undress.

The CDs contained a series of images of an adult male with a young female child. The child appeared to be unconscious.

The man in the photographs was later identified as Jeffrey Reid of Niagara Falls.

The 51-year-old father of four appeared in Ontario Court of Justice in Hamilton in February and was sentenced to 10 years behind bars on charges of possession of child pornography, making child pornography and sexual interference.

His former spouse, Heather Harris, who prepped" the child for the photos and operated the camera during the offences, was sentenced to five years in jail on a charge of making child pornography.

After Reid was identified, court was told, Niagara Regional Police executed a search warrant at a residence on Lundy's Lane and seized multiple electronic devices.

The items were analyzed and police discovered additional photo sessions" with the same child dating back to 2003.

The victim was identified through the course of the investigation and she told police Reid and Harris were her former babysitters. She was eight years old at the time.

In total, police recovered more than 8,200 images which constituted child pornography as defined by the Criminal Code and 19 videos. There were 980 specific images of the victim.

Court was told Reid, who was in his early 30s at the time of the offences, was exposed to inappropriate sexual activity at a very early age.

A court-ordered assessment concluded the defendant does have an attraction to underage females and a sexualized interest in clothing and costumes.

He also has an attraction to adult females and, at the time of the report, the author concluded the defendant has been able to redirect his sexual interests toward adults. He has been deemed to be a low risk to reoffend.

The intentional sexual exploitation and objectification of children is highly morally blameworthy because children are so vulnerable," Judge Amanda Camara said in her decision.

The judge noted both offenders pleaded guilty to their charges, which saved the victim from having to testify in court.

I take into account Mr. Reid's dysfunctional and sad childhood and the fact that he was exposed to sexual activity at an early age not to excuse his conduct but to assist in giving context to his actions and understanding the reason that he lacked the moral compass that should have deterred him from victimizing (the child)," she said.

In the case of Harris, court was told she was in a toxic and abusive relationship with her husband at the time of the offences. The 48-year-old Hamilton woman was also assessed and deemed to be a low risk to reoffend.

Reid's name will appear on the national sex offender registry for life. Harris must comply with conditions of the registry for the next 20 years.

Both defendants were banned for life from attending places where children could be present such as public parks and community centres.

Alison Langley is a St. Catharines-based reporter for the Niagara Falls Review. Reach her via email: alison.langley@niagaradailies.com