Toddler rescued from sexual abuse

Edmonton… A toddler from Strathcona County has been rescued from suspected sexual exploitation. ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit has charged the child’s mother.

ICE rescued the child on February 4, 2023 after entering the home under exigent circumstances. A tip from the FBI, received less than 48 hours earlier, detailed alleged prolific and ongoing sexual abuse of a young child in Alberta.

The child was taken to hospital for evaluation and has received help from a variety of specialized support services, including Zebra Center for Child Protection and Edmonton Police Services’ Child at Risk Response Team. Alberta’s Children’s Services is also involved.

The victims’ mother has been charged and her name is not being released in order to protect the identity of the victim.

The 35-year-old woman has been charged with:

• Sexual exploitation;
• Sexual interference;
• Arrangement to commit a sexual offence against a child;
• Making child pornography;
• Distribution of child pornography;
• Accessing child pornography; and
• Possession of child pornography.

The suspect was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on February 22, 2023 in Sherwood Park.

The victim’s father was unaware of the alleged offences and has been fully cooperative with the investigation.

The alleged sexual abuse was uncovered and in relation to an arrest that took place in Yuba City, Calif. in October 2022. Yuba City Police Department charged Brian Davis, a 30-year-old man, with suspicion of oral copulation with a victim under 10 years old, possession of obscene matter involving a minor in sexual acts with the intent to distribute.

Forensic analysis and examination of devices seized from Davis later uncovered that he had been conversing over the social media platform Kik with a woman somewhere in the Edmonton region. The chats depicted and communicated graphic sexual abuse of the woman’s child.

Via the FBI, this information was shared with the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Center and ICE on February 3, 2023. ICE acted quickly to identify and relied upon exigent circumstances to identify and locate the suspect and rescue the child.

A number of partner agencies were involved in this investigation including Strathcona County RCMP, Edmonton Police Service, ALERT Surveillance teams, FBI, and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.

Anyone with information about this case or any child exploitation situation is asked to contact their local police or to report their concern anonymously at www.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.