Edmonton-area mother charged with sexual exploitation of toddler after tip from FBI
Posted February 7, 2023 10:56 am.
A Strathcona County woman has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child and making child pornography, according to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT).
ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit says the mother is accused of having depicted and communicated graphic sexual abuse of her toddler in online chats with a man in California.
The 35-year-old mother is facing multiple charges including sexual exploitation, sexual interference, arrangement to commit a sexual offence against a child, and various child pornography charges.
The mother’s name is not being released to protect the child’s identity. She was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 22 in Sherwood Park.
Police say the victim’s father was unaware of the alleged offences and has been cooperating with the investigation.
ALERT says the child was rescued from the home on Saturday under “exigent circumstances” after the team receiving a tip from the FBI less than 48 hours earlier.
The toddler was taken to hospital for evaluation. The child has received support, according to ALERT, from the Zebra Center for Child Protection and the EPS’ Child at Risk Response Team. Alberta’s Children’s Services is also involved.
Investigation began in California
Police arrested a 30-year-old man, Brian Davis, in Yuba City, Calif., last October.
Davis was charged with suspicion of oral copulation with a victim under 10 years old, and possession of obscene matter involving a minor in sexual acts with the intent to distribute.
Investigators examined devices they seized and determined the accused was speaking to a woman near Edmonton over the social media platform Kik. There were allegedly depictions of graphic sexual abuse.
That information was shared with ICE and the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Center via the FBI on Friday.
An ICE spokesperson was scheduled to address the media Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the ALERT Edmonton Building.
