Calgary security consultant Daniel Clayton was sentenced Friday to three years in a federal penitentiary on child pornography charges.

But in a hand-written note provided to the Sun, Clayton proclaimed his innocence and vowed to appeal his March conviction on charges of possessing, accessing and distributing disturbing images of young children.

“I will be filing an appeal next week on the grounds of an unreasonable decision,” Clayton said of his conviction by Justice Kristine Eidsvik.

Eidsvik rejected suggestions by defence lawyer Balfour Der that Clayton’s crimes warranted a sentence of less than two years, which could be served in a provincial jail.

She agreed with Crown prosecutor Jenny Rees that penalties in cases involving child pornography have been on the upswing in recent years.

“As recently reflected by the Supreme Court ... ‘the initial sentencing response of the courts to the child pornography provisions (of the Criminal Code) was relatively lenient,’” Eidsvik said, quoting a decision from the nation’s highest court.

“As the courts and society as a whole are increasingly becoming aware of the extent and effects of such abuse of children, the level of sentence should be responsive to the gravity of the crime revealed,” she continued.

Eidsvik also pointed to a ruling by a fellow Calgary judge who rejected a joint submission for two years on a case similar to Clayton’s.

Justice Ged Hawco said “such a sentence is simply not appropriate in a case when one considers the number of photographs and videos depicting children being abused and horribly violated,” she noted.

Eidsvik said Clayton’s laptop, and one he gave to his then-fiance, Leah McInnis, contained about 4,600 pieces of child pornography on them.

“They are mostly of naked young girls posing in sexual ways ... young naked boys in various poses, (and) acts of vaginal and anal intercourse,” the judge said.

Other pictures included attempted rapes on some babies, oral sex and images of bondage, Eidsvik said.

“The nature of the material is for the most part of the ‘posing’ nature, but it also includes acts of aggravated sexual assault and violence,” she said.

“In addition, the age of most of the children range between several months and pre-pubescent.”