LETHBRIDGE — One of the most serious charges against a former southern Alberta police official accused of child pornography is being dropped.
Curtis Paradee will no longer be charged with communicating with a person under 16 for the purpose of committing an offence.
Paradee’s lawyer told Taber provincial court Tuesday that the alleged victim was not under 16.
“Based upon the defence counsel’s review of the evidence it turned out that that simply wasn’t the case ... and surprisingly it appeared that nobody in the Crown’s office or the investigators determined the age of this individual before laying the charges,” defence lawyer Douglas Carle said outside the courtroom.
“I’m amazed that there would be a press conference by the police indicating that this individual was 15 ... without anyone actually checking the age of the individual first.”
Paradee, who is the former civilian chairman of the Taber Police Commission, still faces eight charges related to child pornography.
“A plethora of new charges have been laid which in essence are all just branches of the same child pornography charge, which Mr. Paradee absolutely states uncategorically he is not involved in and has never been involved in,” said Carle.
“We believe he’ll be exonerated at trial on that.”
Paradee, 42, is alleged to have posed as a teenage boy and persuaded a teen girl to perform sexual acts for him to watch on a web video camera.
The case is due back in court Oct. 11.