TORONTO - A Toronto actor known for his portrayal of a loud Scotsman in TV beer commercials has been sentenced to 20 months in jail and three years of probation after pleading guilty to child porn charges.
Former Alexander Keith's pitchman Robert Smith was sentenced for possessing and distributing child pornography.
Smith, who is married and has two children, pleaded guilty in May to three charges: two for possession of child porn and one for making it available.
Toronto police first observed him downloading images and videos of children being sexually exploited from a file-sharing website they were monitoring.
Smith's home was raided in 2006, and police found more than 1,100 child porn files on two computers and 14 CDs.
The Crown was pushing for the two-year maximum sentence for Smith, while the defence had argued for the 18-month minimum.
According to lead police investigator Det. Const. Nicki Laxamana, the fact that Smith is a father likely played a role in the sentencing.
"I think the judge made a good point when he said that it was an aggravating component to the sentence," Laxamana told CTV News.
In addition to the prison sentence, Smith will only be allowed supervised visitation with his two sons -- ages 4 and 7 -- for five years after he is released.
Smith must now also submit DNA samples to police as he will be registered on the national sex offenders database for the next 10 years.
