Spruce Grove dad charged with sexually abusing his toddler-aged daughters

A 32-year-old man west of Edmonton is facing several charges after investigators allege he sexually assaulted his own two daughters.

The Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) became involved after receiving information from the RCMP National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre.

A search warrant was executed on April 6, and the man was arrested at his home in Spruce Grove. Police said they made the arrest within 48 hours of receiving the initial tip.

Det. Brian Cross with the ICE unit said the tip was related to online communication the man had engaged in, but didn’t expand further. It’s alleged he also shared images of child nudity.

The man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of the victims, is facing two counts each of sexual assault, sexual exploitation and invitation to sexual touching, as well as one count each of making, possessing and accessing child pornography, as well as making child pornography available.

“Both children are toddler-aged and were allegedly sexually assaulted on a number of occasions over a period of several months,” ALERT said in a news release Thursday.

While the man is facing several charges related to his daughters being sexually assaulted, Cross said ALERT investigators haven’t found any images that suggest the pornography was made with his kids.

“There were no nude images shared of his children that we have identified at this point, however, forensic examination of the devices is still ongoing and it’s a long and labour-intensive process,” Cross said. “So the investigation, I’d describe, is still pretty early on and we have a lot of work forensically to determine any additional offenses that may or may not have been committed.”

ALERT said members of the Spruce Grove/Stony Plain RCMP detachment assisted with the search and arrest.

The Zebra Centre for Child Protection is providing support and assistance to the victims.