A prosecutor is warning members of the public at the sentencing hearing for serial killer Bruce McArthur that they could hear extremely explicit facts that could affect health and wellbeing, and is asking people to think twice about whether they to hear them.

Prosecutor Michael Cantlon described his warning to the public gallery as unusual.

McArthur pleaded guilty on Jan. 29 to eight counts of first-degree murder. The former landscaper sexually assaulted, killed and dismembered men he met in Toronto's Gay Village district over seven years.