Girl, 4, rescued in porn bust

A four-year-old girl from Hinton has been rescued and a 52-year-old man is facing charges following a child pornography investigation, the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team said Wednesday.

ALERT’s northern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation unit began an investigation in November after receiving information from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre in Ottawa that child pornography images were being uploaded to a website.

Sgt. Mike Lokken described the investigation as “a huge undertaking.” It was fast- tracked as police believed hands-on abuse was taking place.

“Good old-fashioned police work on the part of our investigators led to the suspect and victim,” Lokken said. “Any time we can identify someone who is harming a child, that is our No. 1 priority.”

Police say a four-year-old Hinton girl had been sexually exploited by a 52-year-old man from Worsley, Alta.

Lokken described the suspect as an acquaintance of the girl’s family and said the family was unaware of the abuse. The girl remains with her family.

The ICE unit, with the help of Edmonton police and Hinton and Fairview RCMP, arrested the 52-year-old Dec. 4 at a Worsley work camp.

Kenneth McKinley is charged with making, distributing, and accessing child pornography, in addition to sexual interference and sexual assault. He was scheduled to appear in Hinton provincial court Wednesday.