Group Home Worker Charged with Sex Assault

Edmonton… An Edmonton group home worker has been arrested after he allegedly sexually assaulted a youth in his care.

ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit arrested Samer Temraz on November 2, 2018, and charged the 40-year-old man with numerous offences related to child sexual exploitation and child pornography. The victim was 11 years old.

The Edmonton Police Service’s Sexual Assault Section and the Zebra Centre for Child Protection are providing assistance with the investigation and believe there may be additional victims. Investigators are in the process of contacting and interviewing youth who previously had contact with Temraz. Alberta Children’s Services is also continuing to support the investigation.

Since the date of his arrest, Temraz has remained in custody, and he is scheduled to appear in court on December 5, 2018.

The investigation began after ICE received information from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre about a suspect accessing child pornography. Once the suspect was identified and arrested, a forensic analysis of his computers and electronic devices uncovered evidence of sexual assault committed against a youth.

The victim was identified as a youth in his care at the group home. The group home is not being named in order to help protect the identity of the victim.

Temraz is charged with:

• sexual exploitation;
• sexual assault;
• sexual interference;
• possession of child pornography;
• transmitting child pornography; and
• making child pornography.

Anyone with information about this investigation or any child exploitation offence is encouraged to contact local police or cybertip.ca.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime. Members of Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, Lethbridge Police Service, Medicine Hat Police Service, and RCMP work in ALERT.