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Edmonton… A Sherwood Park man is facing child pornography-related charges after ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit arrested him this week at a residence out of which a dayhome was also operating.
On Aug. 29, 2017, with the assistance of Strathcona County RCMP, ICE investigators executed a search warrant at a home in central Sherwood Park. There, they arrested Adam Downing, 32, and charged him with possessing child pornography and making child pornography available.
The suspect’s mother was operating a dayhome at the residence. No children were present when the search warrant was executed. Families of children who attended the dayhome were notified, and there is currently no evidence to suggest offences were committed against any of those children.
Investigators also believe the suspect worked as a camp counselor with junior and senior high school students this past summer at Camp Van-Es, located at South Cooking Lake, approximately 40 kilometres southeast of Edmonton.
This investigation began in late July when the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children passed on information about a social media user uploading child pornography to the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre in Ottawa, who subsequently referred the case to ICE.
Anyone with information about this investigation or any child exploitation offence is encouraged to contact local police or www.cybertip.ca.
According to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, parents should watch for the following behaviours in children as they may indicate distress and possible sexual abuse:
For more information on how to recognize possible signs of sexual abuse in children, visit www.protectchildren.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 the Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, Lethbridge Police Service, Medicine Hat Police Service, and RCMP work in ALERT.
The work we do is about our communities, and that’s why we recognize that residents can be instrumental in tackling serious crime. If you or someone you know has been the victim of a crime, or you suspect criminal activity, please reach out. Your information will remain strictly confidential.
Thank you for helping to make Alberta safer by being actively involved and reporting suspicious activity.