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Two central Albertans charged with child porn

ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation unit arrests 24 suspects
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ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit

Two central Alberta men were among 24 Albertans to face child porn charges in the first three months of 2021.

ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation said Hunter Tonneson, 20, of Blackfalds, and Cris Marshall, 29, of Stettler, were each charged with at least one child pornography offence.

ICE said the 24 suspects face a total of 60 online offences related to the sexual exploitation of children, and there was no definitive link between the suspects other than the nature of offences allegedly committed.

Suspects were from across the province, and range in age from 19 to 54.

The arrests came as the result of investigative referrals from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre, which works with internet and social media providers to track and investigate online instances of child sexual exploitation.

ICE said last year there was nearly a 40 per cent increase in case referrals with over 2,100 intakes.

“This is a concerning consequence of our digital dependency during the pandemic. ALERT has responded by directing more tools and resources to our ICE units and we are prepared to travel to every corner of the province in order to stop child sex predators,” said ALERT CEO Supt. Dwayne Lakusta.

“The sexual exploitation of children is a crime that tears at the fabric of society and preys on our most vulnerable. Increased provincial funding is enabling ALERT to double the size of its ICE unit, ensuring it has the tools and resources to track down predators who commit these heinous acts and bring them to justice,” said Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kaycee Madu.

With new provincial funding, ALERT has worked to double the size of the ICE unit with the addition of investigators, forensic technicians, analysts, and disclosure clerks, along with new technologies and software applications.

Now with more than 50 positions, Alberta’s ICE unit is one of the largest of its kind in Canada.

During recent investigations, ICE relied upon the assistance of a number of partner agencies, including: Calgary Police, Edmonton Police, Lethbridge Police, Medicine Hat Police, and RCMP detachments in Barrhead, Beaverlodge, Blackfalds, Cochrane, Edson, Fort MacLeod, Grande Prairie, Onoway, Okotoks, Slave Lake, Stettler, and Wood Buffalo.

Other suspects include Michael Antonio, 25, of Calgary; Curt Backlund, 48, of Grande Prairie; Brad Bailey, 19, of Marlboro; Brett Beer, 54, of Onoway; Eric Bultmann, 30, of Calgary; Kevin Dykstra, 35, of Barrhead; Brian Harrison, 35, of Calgary; Jeremy Henderson, 42, of Okotoks; Bryan Hillman, 39, of Calgary; Christopher Hoffner, 34, of Medicine Hat; James Kydd, 39, of Calgary; Mica LePage, 44, of Edmonton; Jordan MacDonald, 30, of Edmonton; Stedson McDonald, 32, of Grande Prairie; James Merrison, 21, of Edmonton; Traline Munn, 44, of Cold Lake; Krishnamoort Nalla Naidu, 38, of Edmonton; Van Linh Nguyen, 24, of Edmonton; Ivan Scott, 47, of Cochrane; Jerry Lee Thompson, 47, of Fort MacLeod; Chase Viau, 23, of Edmonton; and Richard Westland, 45, of Medicine Hat.

Anyone with information about these investigations, or any child exploitation offence is encouraged to contact local police or cybertip.ca.



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