By Sheldon Spackman

court

Eckville man facing child porn charges seeks lawyer

Mar 29, 2019 | 1:59 PM

An Eckville man facing dozens of child porn-related charges is seeking a new lawyer.

Th 35-year-old man made a brief court appearance by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) from the Edmonton Remand Centre on Friday and learned the defence lawyer he’s been trying to get a hold of will not be able to represent him.

As a result, he is to remain behind bars until his next scheduled court appearance in Red Deer on Apr. 26.

The man faces 73 counts following an extensive investigation by the ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team) Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit.

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Charges against him include multiple counts of sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, voyeurism, possessing, accessing, distributing and making child pornography, in addition to breach of recognizance.

ALERT says at least eight child victims have been identified who were allegedly sexually assaulted by the man at various times dating back to 2013.

His initial arrest came on January 10 of this year after ICE received a tip from Australia’s Task Force Argos, a specialized online child exploitation unit of the Queensland Police Service.

Australian police alleged an Alberta man was involved in trading child pornography images online.

Officials with ALERT say subsequent media coverage resulted in a number of potential victims then coming forward, resulting in computers and other electronics being seized from his home for forensic analysis.

According to ALERT, forensic analysis of the man’s phone and computers has so far yielded more than half a million images and videos of child sexual exploitation and voyeurism, with a full analysis yet to be completed.

The Eckville man has been in custody since his Jan. 18 arrest by Sylvan Lake RCMP, who have since received extensive assistance from Fox Creek RCMP, the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre in Red Deer and Caribou Child and Youth Centre in Grande Prairie.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The name of the accused was made subject to publication ban on Oct. 30, 2019. Our story has been revised to comply with the court-ordered ban.