Two arrested, two children rescued after child porn investigation

July 4, 2019, 10:48 am

Two men have been arrested--one in Rocanville and one in Red Deer, Alberta--and two children have been rescued and are in the care of social services, since RCMP started investigating two men for sexual interference and child pornography.

A joint investigation involving the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit (Sask ICE) and the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ALERT ICE) resulted in the rapid capture of two men and the rescue of two children in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

On June 24, 2019, Sask ICE received information regarding two men accessing cloud-based child pornography, sharing child pornography and discussing, via a popular social media application, sexually assaulting children.

Sask ICE started an investigation and shared its findings with ALERT ICE to further the investigation.

On June 26, 2019, Sask ICE and ALERT ICE respectively executed search warrants in Rocanville, Saskatchewan, and in Red Deer, Alberta.

Numerous electronic devices were seized at several locations and the two men were arrested.

The two children are safe and each province's respective children’s services departments are involved in their care.

In Rocanville, Sask ICE arrested 35-year-old Robert Gaasenbeek and charged him with:

Three counts of Sexual interference – Section 151 of the Criminal Code;

Agreement to commit a sexual offence against a child – Section 172.2(1)(b) of the Criminal Code;

Making child pornography – Section 163.1 (2) of the Criminal Code;

Possessing child pornography – Section 163.1(4) of the Criminal Code;

Accessing child pornography – Section 163.1(4.1) of the Criminal Code;

Distributing child pornography – Section 163.1(3) of the Criminal Code.

In Red Deer, ALERT ICE arrested a 40-year-old man and charged him with:

Making arrangements to commit a sexual offence against a child (x2) – Section 172.2 of the Criminal Code;

Sexual assault – Section 271 of the Criminal Code;

Sexual interference – Section 151 of the Criminal Code;

Sexual exploitation – Section 153 of the Criminal Code;

Making child pornography – Section 163.1 (2) of the Criminal Code;

Possessing child pornography – Section 163.1(4) of the Criminal Code;

Accessing child pornography – Section 163.1(4.1) of the Criminal Code;

Distributing child pornography – Section 163.1(3) of the Criminal Code;

Making child pornography available – Section 163.1(3) of the Criminal Code;

Incest - Section 155 of the Criminal Code

The 35-year-old man arrested in Rocanville is in custody at the Regina Police Service headquarters and will next appear at the Regina Provincial Court on July 4, 2019.

The 40-year-old man arrested in Red Deer with the assistance of the Red Deer RCMP and held in custody. His next court appearance will be at Red Deer Provincial Court on July 17, 2019.

Anyone with information about this case or any child exploitation situation is asked to contact their local police or to report their concern anonymously at www.cybertip.ca.

Sask ICE and ALERT ICE units would like to thank the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Regina Police Service, Red Deer RCMP, and Moosomin RCMP for their valuable assistance during this investigation.

The Sask ICE Unit is comprised of investigators from the Saskatchewan RCMP, Regina Police Service, Saskatoon Police Service and Prince Albert Police Service. Their mandate is to investigate crimes involving the abuse and/or exploitation of children on the Internet.

ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime. Members of the Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, Lethbridge Police Service, Medicine Hat Police Service, and RCMP work in ALERT.