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CALGARY — Seven men from Calgary, Lethbridge and Red Deer have been charged after an Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams investigation into online child sexual exploitation.
Operation ICE Storm, launched in June by ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation unit, targeted high-level offenders accused of distributing and sharing large collections of child sexual abuse material through peer-to-peer networks.
Investigators seized more than 40 computers and electronic devices containing about 405,000 images and 11,000 videos. Staff Sgt. Mark Auger of ALERT said one device alone held more than 300,000 images, illustrating the massive volume of data officers are reviewing.
At this stage, police do not believe any victims are from Alberta or that any direct offences occurred in the province.
Charged are David Swann, 37, Terry Beaudette, 55, Anthony Klassen, 40, Jeremy Martinuk, 42, and Cheuk Fai Liu, 26, all of Calgary; Rowan Bachand, 42, of Lethbridge; and Jason Leone, 51, of Red Deer. Each faces counts of possession, accessing and making available child pornography.
Operation ICE Storm involved assistance from Calgary police, Lethbridge police and Red Deer RCMP.
Anyone with information about child exploitation offences is asked to contact local police or submit a tip through cybertip.ca.
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