Man pleads guilty to child pornography charges

A former Piikani First Nation elementary school teacher from Pincher Creek will be back in court on Sept. 18 to set a date for a sentencing hearing after pleading guilty on Monday in Lethbridge provincial court to making and possessing child pornography.

Mark Anderson, 44, was arrested on arrested Jan. 11, following an investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) with help from Pincher Creek RCMP, Piikani Nation RCMP and Lethbridge Police Service.

New charges including making, printing, publishing or possessing for the purpose of publishing child pornography, as well as voyeurism, were laid in June as a result of the ongoing investigation.

The initial investigation into Anderson began in July 2017 when ICE received a referral from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children concerning a social media user uploading child sexual exploitation material. Police said none of the images seen at the time appeared to have originated in southern Alberta.

Following the guilty pleas entered Monday, the court ordered a FAOS (Forensic Assessment Outpatient Service) report from Alberta Mental Health to examine Anderson’s potential to re-offend. That report should be ready by Anderson’s next court date.