B.C. man arrested on multiple child pornography charges

A 37-year-old Fort St John man has been arrested for allegedly uploading and sharing sexual abuse pictures online.

An investigation by Alberta's Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit has confirmed they are pictures of his young daughter.

In a statement, the Calgary-based joint law enforcement task force says officers launched an investigation after receiving a public tip.

They say the information led them to a suspect, and RCMP B.C. North District made an arrest on Feb. 8, 2021.

"Our primary concern was the health and well-being of that child," said ICE team Sgt. Randy Poon. "Once we received that tip, our investigators sprang into action and made an arrest as quickly as possible." 

The Exploitation Unit says the victim and family members are receiving help from a variety of specialized support services, and children's services is also involved.

Law enforcement from across Canada, including ICE, the Calgary Police Service, Fort St. John RCMP, the RCMP's National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre and the United States' National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, collaborated on the investigation.

"These types of crimes don't respect borders or boundaries. The cooperation and enforcement between partners needs to be seamless and this file is an example of the efforts underway to detect, deter and investigate child exploitation files," said RCMP B.C. North District Cpl. Madonna Saunderson.

The suspect's name is not being released in order to protect the child's identity.

The man is facing multiple criminal charges, including making child pornography, distributing child pornography, possessing child pornography and several firearms offences. 

A number of computer and electronic devices were seized for forensic analysis. ICE's investigation is ongoing.