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Sylvan Lake man charged with sex offences involving young daughter

Jul 24, 2018 | 1:32 PM

Two girls have been rescued from sexual exploitation following separate investigations in Sylvan Lake and Edmonton, according to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT).

ALERT’s ICE (Internet Child Exploitation) unit conducted the separate search warrants on July 19.

In both instances, the victims were allegedly being sexually offended by their fathers, and both are under four-years-old.

ALERT says a 37-year-old Sylvan Lake man was arrested and charged with incest, making child pornography, possession of child pornogrpahy, and accessing child pornography.

A 29-year-old Edmonton man faces similar charges in the other case. 

Police say the names of the suspects are not be released in order to protect the identity of the children.

“These arrests have stopped the abuse, but sadly the recovery process for these young girls will be long and difficult. Thankfully, we have excellent partners that provide enhanced victim support resources,” said Insp. Dave Brink.

Both victims are now receiving support from a variety of specialized services, including at Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre in Red Deer and the Zebra Child Protection Centre in Edmonton.

Again, ALERT stresses that the cases are separate, albeit similar.

Investigations were launched after ALERT received referrals from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. The referrals revolved around social media users possessing child porn. 

ALERT also received assistance from Red Deer RCMP, EPS, Alberta Children’s Services and Alberta Sheriffs.

Anyone with information about these investigations, or any cases related to child sexual exploitation, is encouraged to come forward and contact police or cybertip.ca.