Two men in Victoria are facing 10 charges for child exploitation after two investigations by the VicPD’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit.
More than a year and a half ago, the West Shore RCMP responded to information about a potential victim of child luring over the internet. A suspect was identified in Esquimalt, and the VicPD ICE investigator started an investigation in June 2017.
On Nov. 14, 2018, a search warrant was executed at a 61-year-old mans home in Esquimalt with the help of VicPD’s Special Victims Unit, Integrated Tech Crime Unit, officers and the Forensic Identification Section.
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The man faces eight charges including making, distributing and possessing child pornography, luring a child under 14 years old, luring a child under 16, arranging or agreeing to a sexual offence against a child, and making sexually explicit material available to a child.
He was released with multiple conditions on a promise to appear.
The second investigation began on Nov. 1, 2018. A 28-year-old man was found to want to sexually abuse a child. The VicPD set up a meeting at an apartment on Nov. 8, and arrested the man upon arrival. He is facing a charge of luring a child under 16 years old. It was also discovered the man has been living in Canada illegally for four years, and the Canadian Border Services Agency is confirming his status.
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