An Okotoks man is among the 24 suspects facing charges relating to investigations from Alberta's Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) this year.

In a recent release, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) revealed that 60 charges have been laid between January and April of this year in relation to the sexual exploitation of children online, and included a list of the 24 suspects.

According to ALERT, each of the following suspects is facing charges relating to at least one child pornography offence:

-Michael Antonio, 25-year-old man from Calgary;
-Curt Backlund, 48-year-old man from Grande Prairie;
-Brad Bailey, 19-year-old man from Marlboro;
-Brett Beer, 54-year-old man from Onoway;
-Eric Bultmann, 30-year-old man from Calgary;
-Kevin Dykstra, 35-year-old man from Barrhead;
-Brian Harrison, 35-year-old man from Calgary;
-Jeremy Henderson, 42-year-old man from Okotoks;
-Bryan Hillman, 39-year-old man from Calgary;
-Christopher Hoffner, 34-year-old man from Medicine Hat;
-James Kydd, 39-year-old man from Calgary;
-Mica LePage, 44-year-old man from Edmonton;
-Jordan MacDonald, 30-year-old man from Edmonton;
-Cris Marshall, 29-year-old man from Stettler;
-Stedson McDonald, 32-year-old man from Grande Prairie;
-James Merrison, 21-year-old man from Edmonton;
-Traline Munn, 44-year-old man from Cold Lake;-
-Krishnamoort Nalla Naidu, 38-year-old man from Edmonton;
-Van Linh Nguyen, 24-year-old man from Edmonton;
-Ivan Scott, 47-year-old man from Cochrane;
-Jerry Lee Thompson, 47-year-old from Fort MacLeod;
-Hunter Tonneson, 20-year-old man from Blackfalds;
-Chase Viau, 23-year-old man from Edmonton; and
-Richard Westland, 45-year-old man from Medicine Hat.

ICE has been bolstered in recent months by increased funding to ALERT, which doubled the size of ICE through additional personnel along with new software and other technologies.

Their growth corresponds with an uptick in referrals for the unit, with a 40% increase in 2020 when compared to 2019.

2019-2020 saw 1555 referrals, whereas 2020-2021 saw 2136.

The increase is attributed to a large reliance on digital media over 2020 and into this year.

ICE was assisted by multiple police departments, including Okotoks RCMP, during their investigations.

 

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