A Manitoba woman is in custody facing a slew of serious charges — including allegations that she sexually abused her own infant — after an investigation by the RCMP’s internet child exploitation unit.
Police said they became aware of an account on X (formerly Twitter) in mid-March that had uploaded child sexual abuse and exploitation material. With the help of investigators from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre, a suspect was quickly identified.
The 27-year-old suspect was arrested within two hours of the account being discovered, police said, and the infant was taken to safety.
She has been charged with sexual assault, incest, and possessing, accessing and printing, publishing and making child pornography.
RCMP said they later learned a 31-year-old man in the same community, whom police won’t name to protect the victim’s identity, was in possession of the exploitative material. They said the man had been extorting the woman and threatening to post the material. He was also found to be in possession of child pornography.
He is in custody facing charges of possessing child pornography, accessing child pornography, and extortion without a firearm.
A third person, in the United States, is also believed to be in possession of the material, and police said they’re working with international law enforcement partners to investigate.