The Crown says a former city councillor in Saint John, N.B., guilty of sexual assault and child pornography should serve 21 years in prison.

Photo: CTV

Donnie Snook.

Lawyer Karen Lee Lamrock made the recommendation at the sentencing hearing for Donnie Snook.

Lamrock read victim impact statements, quoting one boy as saying he felt crippled emotionally following Snook's crimes.

Snook pleaded guilty in May to 46 charges including sexual assault and possessing, distributing and making child pornography.

Lamrock has told provincial court that Snook used cash to lure boys into his home where he had them carry out sex acts — something she said should be seen as an extremely aggravating factor in sentencing.

She said after the 41-year-old was arrested in January, police seized more than 15,000 photos and videos of child pornography from his computers.

Snook was arrested by the RCMP after an investigation that began in 2011 involving the Saint John and Toronto police. The Mounties say the crimes began in January 2001 and involved 17 boys, most of whom were from the Saint John area and between the ages of five and 15 at the time of the offences.

"Seventeen children is an awful lot of children," Lamrock said Friday.

Snook was elected to city council in 2008 and was involved in community organizations including the Inner City Youth Ministry, which provides sports programs, mentoring and lunches at three schools.