Local resident faces multiple child pornography charges

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Investigations by the RCMP of online child sexual exploitation has led to the arrest of over two dozen suspects from across Alberta, including a Strathmore man.

The Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), a collaborative policing effort between RCMP and municipal police, has charged 26 suspects with 63 offences. Strathmore resident Joseph Cadrain, 32, has been charged with making, accessing and possessing child pornography.

Most of the arrests resulted from investigative referral from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre, which works with internet and social media providers to track and investigate child sexual exploitation online, according to an ALERT press release.

“The internet isn’t anonymous and these arrests demonstrate ALERT’s willingness to travel to all corners of the province to make arrests, put predators behind bars and keep kids safe,” said Supt. Dwayne Lakusta, ALERT chief executive officer, in the release.

Strathmore RCMP worked in collaboration with ICE during the investigation and subsequent arrest.

The arrests follow 18 suspects across Alberta being charged with 65 child exploitation offences between May 20 and June 23, announced on June 26. ICE reported a record number of investigative referrals in March, when 243 instances of online child exploitation in Alberta was reported, exceeding the unit’s two-year average of about 110.

ICE speculates that an increase in the number of investigative referrals is likely to be in-part related to “digital dependency” during COVID-19 isolation measures, according to the press release.