A man from Gabriola Island has been charged in connection with a child pornography investigation originating in Kent, England.
Douglas Densley Green, 70, has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography.
Green appeared in Nanaimo provincial court Tuesday.
The investigation into Green began in December when the Kent Police Department obtained information indicating a resident of Canada was allegedly involved in an offence relating to children under the age of 16, according to a press release issued by the Gabriola RCMP detachment.
The information was forwarded to the B.C. Integrated Child Exploitation Unit, which initiated an investigation. Police searched a Gabriola residence March 7 and seized 40 items. Investigators also took statements and had preliminary forensic examinations carried out on computers and other electronic media.
Cpl. Markus Muntener, Gabriola RCMP detachment commander, said he is not currently aware of any other suspects connected to the case on the island. It is also not clear if Green was actively trafficking in child pornography or merely in possession of it.
“We’re not totally sure,” Muntener said. “That part of the investigation is still ongoing, so … there’s some other possible charges that are potentially being pursued, so we’ll see how that kind of pans out.”
Green, 70, has been released under numerous court-imposed conditions, which include not attending any location where children under the age of 16 frequent or are reasonably expected to be.
Muntener said child pornography cases on Gabriola have been rare.
“We have had two of these in the last two years, so I don’t know if that’s a trend or if that’s just the way things go sometimes,” he said. “Certainly there is more attention to these types of offences now so the possibility exists that these types of things will occur more often now.”
Green’s next court appearance is May 31.
