By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Child exploitation charges laid against Edmonton man

Feb 10, 2019 | 9:40 AM

An Edmonton man has been arrested on child exploitation charges after information from the USA was collected by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit executed a search warrant on Jan. 29 at an apartment in downtown Edmonton.

There, they arrested 21-year-old Cody Normand, charging him with making child pornography, distributing child pornography, possession of child pornography, two counts of child luring, and breach of probation.

The investigation stemmed from information received in May 2018 when a father in El Paso, Texas found evidence of his 10-year-old daughter allegedly being coerced into sending sexually explicit photos to a man she was chatting with online, authorities say.

He contacted the Winnipeg-based Cybertip directly, who passed the information to the ICE unit.

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“Our partnership with Cybertip is invaluable,” said Cpl. Dave Knight, ICE Unit. “The information they and other partners provide us on a daily basis is the integral first step in our mission to keep kids safe.”

“This is another example of the incredible work the ALERT investigators are doing to protect kids. Unfortunately, the reality is that, as Canada’s national tipline, we receive reports of online child sexual exploitation every single day,” said Stephen Sauer, director of Cybertip.ca. “With new apps appearing all the time and evolving technologies, we know it can be difficult for parents to navigate online safety with their kids. We have resources to help at www.cybertip.ca.”

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