Police rescue two girls, under age four, from sexual exploitation by their fathers

Two girls under the age of four — one in Edmonton, and one in Sylvan Lake — have been rescued from sexual exploitation by their fathers, says the province’s joint police team.

Search warrants at locations in Edmonton and Sylvan Lake were executed July 19 by Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) officers with the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT).

“In both instances, the victims were allegedly being sexually offended by their fathers. The victims are both under four years old,” said a Tuesday release from ALERT.

A 29-year-old Edmonton man is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, two counts of possession of child pornography, making child pornography, and distributing child pornography.

A 37-year-old Sylvan Lake man is charged with incest, making child pornography, possession of child pornography, and accessing child pornography.

The names of the fathers are not being released in order to protect the identity of the girls.

The Zebra Child Protection Centre and the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Center are helping the children through the recovery process.

“These arrests have stopped the abuse, but sadly the recovery process for these young girls will be long and difficult.

“Thankfully, we have excellent partners that provide enhanced victim support resources,” said ICE Insp. Dave Brink in a statement.

The two cases were unrelated and were launched after receiving referrals — both related to social media users possessing child pornography — from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

ICE officers involved in the cases also had assistance from Alberta Sheriffs, Red Deer RCMP, Alberta Children’s Services and the Edmonton Police Service.