Children’s services employee charged
Charges relate to child pornography
An employee of Alberta Children’s Services whose home was operating as an unlicensed daycare is facing charges related to child pornography.
Members of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s (ALERT) internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit arrested Rae Neveu, 60, on Wednesday and charged him with child luring, possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography.
“We took every precaution to ensure the safety of children,” said Cpl. Cameron Dunn of the ICE unit Friday. “At this point in the investigation it does not appear that any children were harmed.”
At the time of his arrest, Neveu was working as a case aide at the Stony Plain Alberta Children’s Services office for more than 15 years.
Neveu was arrested after a weeklong investigation that started with a tip that a man had been engaging in sexually explicit online chats and exchanging photos with underage victims.
Charges against Neveu all pertain to online activities.
Neveu’s home in northeast Edmonton operated as a private, unlicensed babysitting and child care service for more than a decade. His wife was the primary operator.
“We believe children were left alone in his care,” Dunn said.
Approximately nine children under the age of 11 were in the home and investigators are in contact with each of their parents.
“Our investigation will continue to explore if any of those children were harmed and we are also soliciting information from the public,” he said.
The fact his wife operated a child care business came to light after the initial tip, Dunn said.
Police did not know for how long Neveu engaged in sexual online chats and activity. However, police will be conducting forensic analysis of an electronic device, Dunn said.
Neveu posed as an underage girl and engaged in online sexualized chats with children who probably believed he was a child of the same age, Dunn said.
The girls Neveu was talking to were under 18 years of age.