Jason Matthew Walker pleaded guilty in Victoria provincial court Friday to two counts of perjury and one charge of using forged documents.
The clinical counsellor and former Saanich police reserve constable is expected to be sentenced next week.
At the sentencing hearing Friday, which was packed with Walker's family and friends, Crown prosecutor Robin Baird called for a jail term of 12 to 18 months.
"Mr. Walker claimed he had academic credentials he does not hold and he forged degree certificates," said Baird. "Much more seriously, he perjured himself before Judge Blake in May 2009 and in August 2009 before Judge Wishart in a family custody matter."
But defence lawyer Jeff Green asked Judge Robert Higinbotham to impose a large fine and to sentence his client to probation and the maximum hours of community service.
A prolonged mental health crisis was a factor in Walker's decision to lie about his qualifications, said Green, noting the 32-year-old has no criminal record.
Walker reported to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Shabehram Lohrasbe that he suffered sexual abuse as a child. Green said his client was ill during childhood and suffered from depression and anxiety for years.
Green also asked Higinbotham to consider the huge amount of publicity surrounding Walker's case.
"He has been shamed to the point he lives like a recluse .... No one in their right mind would wish to emulate his crime," said Green, describing his client's fall from grace as "spectacular."
Baird outlined the circumstances leading to Walker's arrest in December 2009. In 2006, Walker returned to Victoria and started making claims about credentials he didn't have, including a doctorate of philosophy in forensic child abuse assessment from Smith College and the University of Toronto, a diploma in behavioural sciences from Yale University, and a doctorate of medical science, epidemiology and public health from the University of Calgary.
Calling himself Dr. Jason Walker and with forged degree certificates on the wall, he opened Health Point Consulting on Chatterton Way, said Baird.
In May 2009, Walker took the stand in an impaired driving trial, telling the court he was a medical doctor.
"It's outrageous," said Baird. "It's a perversion of the court process."
But Walker ultimately got into trouble when he claimed to have special expertise in child welfare issues.
In August 2009, Walker testified at a hearing where a woman applied for a restraining order against the father of her child. In an affidavit, Walker said he had interviewed the child for eight to 10 minutes and believed the father was a danger to the child and should not be allowed access. His resume, which was "chock-full of lies," was attached to the affidavit, said Baird.
Judge Sue Wishart made the order denying the father access, saying the affidavit spoke to significant concern that the child would be physically abused by his father.
After he interviewed the child, Walker notified Saanich police and Ministry for Children and Family Development about the case. Saanich police started to investigate, but quickly became suspicious about Walker's credentials, Baird said.