Murray Wood: The day Canada Became a nation
April 9, 1917 was Easter Monday. On that date, 109 years ago, Canadian soldiers made history at Vimy Ridge. Murray Wood ...
An investigation by Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) units in Saskatchewan and Alberta has resulted in two arrests and the rescues of two children.
A 35-year-old man from Rocanville is facing three counts of sexual interference and single charges of agreement to commit a sexual offence against a child, making child pornography, possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography, and distributing child pornography.
The man, who remains in custody in Regina, is to appear in Regina Provincial Court on Thursday.
A 40-year-old man from Red Deer was arrested in that Alberta city and charged after the investigation.
He’s facing two charges of making arrangements to commit a sexual offence against a child, and one charge each of incest, sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual exploitation, making child pornography, possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography, distributing child pornography, and making child pornography available.
He has been in custody since his arrest. His next court appearance is set for July 17 in Red Deer.
The names of the accused aren’t being released.
In a media release issued Wednesday, the RCMP said the Saskatchewan ICE unit received information on June 24 about two men whom the release said were “accessing cloud-based child pornography, sharing child pornography and discussing, via a popular social media application, sexually assaulting children.”
Officers from the Saskatchewan ICE unit started investigating and then shared information with their Alberta counterparts.
On June 26, officers executed search warrants in Rocanville and in Red Deer and seized a number of electronic devices. The two suspects were arrested and two children were rescued.
The media release said the children are safe. The child rescued in Saskatchewan was turned over to family members to ensure their well-being.
The two ICE units got assistance in their investigation from the Regina Police Service, the Red Deer and Moosomin RCMP detachments, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Anyone with information about the investigation or about any child exploitation situation is asked to contact their local police force or to report their concern anonymously.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a corrected version of the story, reflecting that the child in Saskatchewan is under the care of family members and not the Ministry of Social Services.
