Man charged after parents find preteen’s sexually explicit chats

A 30-year-old man from Rocky Mountain House is facing charges of child luring after parents found sexually explicit chats between a man and their 12-year-old daughter.

Tyler James Cumberland, 30, was arrested Thursday after an investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s (ALERT) Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit.

According to police, parents reached out for help in August after discovering sexualized photos and online conversations between their 12-year-old daughter and an adult man.

“We applaud the victim’s family for coming forward and contacting police. The parent’s intervention could have possibly prevented this relationship from progressing and much worse offences being committed,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Groves, Rocky Mountain House RCMP detachment commander.

Investigators believe the two met over social media and the man was aware the girl was underage.

After police identified a suspect, Rocky Mountain House RCMP executed a search warrant and seized a number of electronics police say provided evidence in the case.

Cumberland has been charged with two counts of child luring, making child pornography, possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography and making sexually explicit materials available to a child.

Cumberland is set to appear in Rocky Mountain House provincial court Dec. 6.