A 58-year-old volunteer basketball coach from Stony Plain is facing child pornography charges after a tip to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s Internet Child Exploitation unit.
ALERT confirmed to Global News that Ron Feniuk has been charged with possessing and transmitting child pornography.
The ICE unit started investigating in May 2022, after receiving a tip that child porn was being uploaded.
“We received information from the RCMP’s national centre about a suspect uploading child pornography to the internet,” ALERT spokesperson Mike Tucker said.
“His online activities generated several referrals to ICE to investigate.”
On Jan. 19, 2023, police obtained a search warrant for Feniuk’s Stony Plain home.
“Later, after the arrest, we learned of this suspect’s association with coaching youth basketball, and affiliation with the church,” Tucker said. “You can appreciate that, given the nature of these (alleged) offences, it is highly concerning for us, and his association with children and putting him in that position of trust and authority.”
ALERT confirmed there’s no reason to believe any basketball players were victimized.
“Right now, our investigation doesn’t believe that any basketball participants or youth were victimized, but we’re still completing a complete forensic analysis of those devices and, of course, (we are) open to any information from the public,” Tucker said.
Feniuk was a basketball coach with Parkland Community Basketball, which sent a statement to players’ families.
In a Jan. 26 statement, the organization explained it was contacted by Edmonton Police Service’s ICE unit and notified one of its volunteers was arrested and charged under the Criminal Code.
“This individual has been removed indefinitely… from our organization. Full disclosure has been provided to all required parties.
“Parkland Basketball remains diligent in protecting our members.
“We have been assured all safety policies and processes regarding vulnerability were followed and at no time were any of our members exploited by this individual’s conduct,” the statement continued.
“It’s very concerning and alarming,” Tucker said. “I do want to provide some measure of assurances to those parents who maybe had participation or kids in basketball or association with his church groups, that right now we don’t believe there were any local victims. This appears to just be related to online offences.
“But I think it’s an important opportunity to talk to your kids.”
On Friday, an official with Scouts Canada confirmed Feniuk is a former volunteer. They said Feniuk was a member of the organization between 2012 and 2019.
“Our volunteers are required to complete rigorous training and police screening procedures before they are allowed to work with youth, including undergoing a police record check every three years,” Scouts Canada said in an email. “Mr. Feniuk had met all these screening and training requirements.
“The Internet Child Exploitation unit has provided us with no indication that scouting youth have been put at risk. We have provided our support to ICE should it be required.”
Feniuk also has a job with the Alberta government in the ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.
— With files from Sarah Ryan, Global News
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