A child pornography investigation has led to the arrest of an Edmonton man, Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) announced on Thursday, adding that the material officers found was described as “extreme.”
“Some of the child sexual abuse material I saw in this investigation ranks amongst the worst I have had to be exposed to,” said Staff Sgt. Jonathan Morrison of ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit.
“The unfortunate trend we are seeing in our office is the escalation of the egregiousness of the child sexual abuse material located during our investigations, which causes our unit great concern.”
Jason Campbell, 44, has been charged with possessing, distributing and accessing child pornography.
Investigators went through computers and other electronic devices they found at the home. ALERT said forensic technicians “located a collection of child sexual abuse materials depicting extremely graphic abuse and violence against young children.”
The investigation began in September. ALERT said the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children shared information “about an unknown suspect sharing child sexual abuse materials online.”
“ICE opened its investigation in September 2023 as a priority file given the extreme content depicted,” ALERT said in a news release.
Morrison said ICE is “concerned that Jason Campbell may have had access to children in the creation of child sexual abuse material” and noted Campbell was charged with similar offences in 2015.
“We are working with the RCMP victim identification unit, but I also want to encourage anyone to contact police with any information they may have in relation to this matter, or if their children had contact with Jason Campbell.”
Morrison was asked about the children seen being abused in the material seized by law enforcement officers. He said in child pornography cases in general, identifying the victims is “very difficult” because “there’s no borders to the internet.”
“Right now, the level of child predation on the internet is prolific. So the ability of us to try and identify these children is really time-consuming and difficult.”
Campbell has been released from custody and has his next court appearance scheduled for Nov. 24.
Anyone with information that could help police with this investigation or any child exploitation situation is asked to contact their local police department or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).