A Red Deer mother is facing child pornography charges in what investigators are calling a rare and heinous crime.
The 43-year-old woman is accused of sending photos of her four-year-old son over the Internet to a man in the United States.
“It is absolutely disturbing,” said Insp. Dave Dubynk, who heads the ALERT Internet Child Exploitation investigation unit. “I have been in policing for 26 years. I have seen a lot of instances. These are very disturbing cases. This is a heinous crime committed on a young child by the one person that they should be able to trust the most to protect them. It’s quite the opposite in this incident.”
The woman was arrested at the licensed daycare where she worked on Wednesday. The suspect had no prior record and was not known to police. Dubynk said he did not know whether the woman was living with anyone or had other children.
“We cannot speak to the extent of the abuse,” said Dubynk. “The abuse was being photographed and sent via email over the Internet to another individual. One that we are aware of and that’s the extent of our investigation.”
The woman was released on conditions including no contact with her son and no access to computers.
Police do not believe the alleged abuse occurred at the daycare.
They are still determining the exact location where the child was abused.
“We continue the investigation to ensure there were no other victims,” said Dubynk. “We don’t believe there had been at this point but we want to make absolutely certain of that.”
Parents of children at the daycare were notified of the arrest via email by the owner on Wednesday.
The name of the daycare will not be made public in order to protect the identity of the child.
The boy is now staying with relatives in Red Deer and is receiving support.
“Outwardly the child seems to be fine, however, I reiterate in a crime of this heinous nature, there could be some consequences as the child grows older,” said Dubynk.
Investigators in Idaho alerted local police that a Red Deer boy was at risk in late May based on evidence seized from a separate investigation.
Peter Allen Cash, 39, of Nampa, Idaho, was arrested on May 18 and was on this way to Canada. Cash is facing nine counts of sexual exploitation of a child and child pornography possession charges pending in Missouri. He remains in police custody in Canyon County Jail in Idaho.
“I don’t believe there is a relationship other than the Internet connection,” said Dubnyk.
The Red Deer woman is charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation; making child pornography; distributing child pornography; possessing child pornography and processing child pornography.
She appears in Red Deer provincial court on July 8.
For more information about how to recognize signs of child abuse, and other resources, please visit the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre website at www.sheldonkennedycac.ca.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com