14 arrests for online child sexual exploitation

An investigation into child sexual exploitation has culminated in the arrest of 14 suspects from across northern Alberta.

“The investigation focused primarily on individuals sharing and trading large amounts — and in many instances particularly graphic images — of child exploitation on the Internet,” said ALERT Insp. Dave Dubnyk.

Operation ICE Reign, an investigation by Alberta Emergency Response Teams’ Internet Child Exploitation unit, led to 33 charges being laid against 14 men in connection to online child sexual exploitation between June and October 2016. More than 250 computers, cellphones and other devices were seized and analysts have found upwards of 25,000 photos and videos so far.

“Each one of those photos represents a real-world victim. This could easily be a child in your neighbourhood, a friend or, as a parent’s worst nightmare, their own child,” said Dubnyk.

The investigation into each suspect often starts with a tip, which can come from a wide variety of sources. Dubnyk said an investigation can start with information from anonymous online tip services like cybertip.ca or reports from other police agencies, Canada Border Services and even Homeland Security in the U.S.

The Internet has created unprecedented opportunities for offenders to access and share child pornography, said Lianna McDonald, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

The centre’s analysis of child exploitation images found that 80 per cent of the children in the images are under the age of 12 and 80 per cent of them are girls. Half of them involve sexual assaults and the younger the child, the more likely the centre’s analysts are to see the child being assaulted.

McDonald said the first victims of Internet-based child sexual exploitation are now in adulthood and many of them suffer additional trauma from the fear that images of them could still be circulating.