A Niagara Falls man who sexually assaulted a young girl multiple times—while his wife took photographs of the abuse—has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Jeffrey Reid, 51, pleaded guilty to four crimes, including one count each of sexual interference and making child pornography. Heather Harris, now his ex-wife, has been sentenced to five years behind bars after pleading guilty to a single charge of making child pornography.
The dual prison sentences mark the end of a lengthy investigation that began in November 2020, when a Hamilton homeowner made a chilling discovery in the rafters of his basement ceiling: a plastic bag containing two compact discs and three photo albums filled with disturbing snapshots of children.
When Hamilton police examined the discs they found even more images, including a series of pictures depicting an unconscious little girl and a man with long blond hair. In some, a woman can be seen prepping the eight-year-old victim for the camera.
Investigators were able to identify the adult perpetrators as Jeffrey David Reid of Niagara Falls and Heather Katherine Harris of Hamilton. They were married when the photos were taken—nearly two decades before, in the early-2000s—but no longer a couple when the images were discovered.
Both were arrested last year. At the time, Reid was living in an apartment on Lundy’s Lane. Police executed a search warrant at that address, as well as a former residence on Byng Ave.
All told, investigators unearthed more than 8,200 images of child pornography, including nearly 1,000 photos of the eight-year-old girl taken over multiple days.
“The child in the images is unconscious—the product of drinking an unknown beverage provided by the accused prior to all the photo sessions,” wrote Justice Amanda Camara, in sentencing Reid last month to 10 years in a federal penitentiary. “Ms. Harris is pictured in one session but is believed to be taking all photographs and being fully complicit in all the sessions.”
Reid was in his early-30s when the photos were taken—“in the throes of alcohol and substance abuse” and deep in debt after shutting down his unnamed company, the judge wrote. His relationship with Harris, which ended in 2016, was “toxic” and “unhealthy,” and his own childhood included exposure to “inappropriate sexual activity.”
“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,” Camara wrote, “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 young girl.
The prosecutor requested a sentence of 10 to 12 years, while Reid’s lawyer argued for seven to eight. Camara settled on 10, with credit for time already served since his arrest. She also ordered that Reid, now a registered sex offender, be “prohibited for life” from going near daycares, schools and playgrounds; from having contact with anyone under 16; and being within 2 kms of the home or workplace of his victim, who is now an adult.
In a separate ruling handed down the same day, Camara sentenced Harris to five years in prison, adopting the joint recommendation of Crown and defence counsel.
“She lacked economic stability and was very much dependent upon Mr. Reid for financial support,” the Hamilton judge wrote on Feb. 25. “She is and was an alcoholic and was using substances at the time of the offence as well. She has been diagnosed with an alcohol abuse disorder, a major depressive disorder and anxiety. She was assessed…to be a low-risk to re-offend and is very likely a one-time sexual offender.”
Like her ex-husband, the 48-year-old must provide a DNA sample, add her name to the national sex offender registry, and stay away from schools, playgrounds and daycares for the rest of her life.
“The guilty plea has saved significant court time in an era when court time is a very precious commodity,” Camara wrote. “Moreover, this guilty plea spares the complainant in this matter from having to attend court, recount and learn more about the abuse that she has suffered.”
