An Edmonton group home worker was arrested last month and charged with allegedly sexually assaulting and making child porn with a youth in his care, according to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT).
The investigation began after ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit received information from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre about a suspect accessing child pornography.
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ALERT said once the suspect was arrested, investigators uncovered evidence on his computer and several other electronic devices of sexual assault committed against a youth.
“At the time of the arrest, this investigation only related to accessing child sex abuse material. However, we had an obvious concern given the suspect’s employment and access to children,” said Staff Sgt. Stephen Camp.
Camp said investigators quickly determined the victim was an 11-year-old youth who was under the suspect’s care at a group home, according to ALERT. The group home is not being named to protect the identity of the victim, investigators said.
ALERT said the suspect worked at the group home in question for about eight years. Investigators said he had access to children overnight, was often alone with them and would go on field trips with the kids.
Police announced the arrest and charges more than a month after it happened, which Camp said was due to the complex nature of the case.
“There’s quite a history — eight years of history here, that this individual would have been taking care of this home. Before we released, we wanted to be sure of two things: that we didn’t do anything that would release the identity of any victims, plus we wanted to find out if there were any other victims.”
Camp said they held the Wednesday news conference in order to encourage other possible victims to come forward.
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ALERT arrested 40-year-old Samer Temraz on Nov. 2. He was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference and sexual exploitation, as well as possessing, transmitting and making child pornography.
Temraz has been in police custody since he was arrested and appeared in court on Wednesday.
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Watch below: Police have charged an Edmonton group home worker with sexual assault and child pornography offences. Fletcher Kent reports.