Guard facing sex charges re-released
Accused carried weapon on bail
A former Calgary courthouse security guard facing 80 charges related to luring children, extortion and child pornography has been re-released after being arrested on the weekend for carrying a concealed weapon.
Provincial court Judge Cheryl Daniel granted bail to Daniel Thomas Mackie on Monday after agreement by Crown prosecutor Nadine Nesbitt and defence lawyer James Wyman.
Mackie is prohibited from carrying any weapon, including knives, and must not have any contact with children while on release.
He also must not have access to the Internet, but was permitted to have a specific cellphone that does not have Internet capabilities.
Police alleged when the bulk of the charges were laid in February that the suspect contacted a total of 16 underage girls and boys online — in most cases using threats in an attempt to obtain explicit pictures of them and trying to persuade them to meet him for sex.
According to court documents, the man succeeded in getting explicit images of one female victim.
Authorities had launched an investigation after administrators of a social networking site notified them in July 2011 of inappropriate behaviour.
Investigators used the information provided by the unnamed Internet site to identify a suspect in Calgary.
Officers searched the man’s home and seized computer equipment.
At the time, police charged Mackie with accessing, distributing and possessing child pornography and released him under strict conditions.
Police received complaints from other sources, including RCMP detachments in Drumheller, Fort McMurray and Cochrane, as well as the parents of a 14-year-old victim.
Additional victims came forward separately and integrated child exploitation unit investigators were able to connect them to a single suspect, police said.
Investigators with Alberta Law En-forcement Response Teams rearrested the suspect after finishing their examination of his computer equipment and laid 77 additional charges.
He was again released and remained in the community until he was picked up on Saturday for breaching bail conditions by possessing a knife.
Police say the suspect allegedly used social networking to contact boys and girls between 11 and 16 years old from 2007 until his initial arrest last July.
Victims were allegedly contacted via chat programs, web cameras and e-mail.
Court documents list 11 girls and one boy allegedly subjected to threats and sexual propositions and sent explicit images of the suspect’s genitals. The suspect is also accused of impersonating one of those girls online, and he is also charged with criminal harassment for allegedly being outside her home.
The court documents list three more people the suspect allegedly impersonated online.
At the time of the alleged offences, the suspect was working as a security guard at the Calgary Courts Centre. His next court appearance is set for May 4.