Former Chilliwack pastor sentenced to jail on child pornography charges

A former pastor who was found guilty of two counts of possessing child pornography andtwo counts of accessing child pornography has been sentenced to14 months in jail by the Chilliwack provincial court.

Johannes "John" Vermeer has also been handed 18 months of probation and placed on the sexual offenderregistry for 10 years.

Vermeer, 61, resigned from his role as executive pastor ofChilliwack's Main Street Church in 2018 after he was arrested and charged.

At the time,Main Street Church lead pastor Shawn Vandopsaid it was church staff who tipped off police after a computer contractor flagged something on the church's computer.

Vandopsaid Vermeer's role at thechurch did notinvolve working with children; rather, he was a behind-the-scenes guywho handled administrative business.

According to court documents, Vermeer committed the offences in 2010 and 2015.