Jury finds Cameron Ortis guilty on all counts in unprecedented trial

globalnews.ca:

A jury has found ex-RCMP intelligence officer Cameron Ortis guilty of sending sensitive information to alleged criminals and money launderers in an unprecedented trial.

After almost three days of deliberation, the jury found Ortis guilty of four counts of breaching Canada’s official secrets law, one count of breaching trust and one count of misusing a computer system.

Following the verdict, Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Maranger said that Ortis’s bail would be revoked prior to sentencing.

Prosecutor Judy Kliewer suggested the Crown would seek a prison sentence in the range of 20 or more years, “and that’s what we expect to see.”

Defence lawyer Mark Ertel said he was “shocked and extremely disappointed” at the outcome. He said there would be an appeal.

“I think an innocent man has just been found guilty of six serious offences,” Ertel said.

“I’m really at a loss for words, I can’t believe what happened.”

The defence contended that the former official did not betray Canada, but was rather acting on a “clear and grave threat.”

Ortis’ arrest in October 2019 sent a shockwave through the Canadian security and intelligence community. From his perch as a top civilian intelligence official at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa, Ortis had near-unlimited access to criminal and national security intelligence collected by the Mounties, Canada’s spy agencies, and partners from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance.

He spent the following four years in custody and out on bail, cut off from the internet and from his former colleagues. He plead not guilty to all of the charges against him.

Ortis’ case finally went to trial this past October, with both the Crown and his defence team arguing the central question was whether the former