Kelowna parents warned to monitor kids online after 2 arrested in child pornography investigation

Kelowna parents are being warned to monitor their children’s online behaviour following a child pornography investigation that recently ended in two arrests.

In a press release issued Monday, Kelowna Mounties said in February their Integrated Child Exploitation Unit executed two search warrants in relation to separate investigations into the Possession of Child Pornography.

In each case, RCMP said an individual was taken into custody during the execution of the search warrant and was later released. A forensic search of the seized devices will be conducted and ultimately submitted with charge requests to the BC Prosecution Service.

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“These latest incidents highlight the crucial need for parents to familiarize themselves with how their teenagers are using the internet,” Cpl. James Jenkins with Kelowna RCMP ICE said.

“Parents are encouraged to ask the tough questions about what their kids are doing online and understand which applications they’re using and what exactly they’re using them for. Whether your child or teen is being extorted into sending explicit images of themselves, or they’re actively seeking out child sexual abuse material, engaging with your children about Internet safety should be a topic of conversation. Parents play an integral part in preventing aspects of this crime.”

Child exploitation cases in Kelowna and across the country have been on the rise, and locally, special resources have been dedicated to the pursuit of these files in recent months.

In a recent report to Kelowna City Council council, the RCMP’s Integrated Child Exploitation Unit said that nationwide, possessing and accessing child sexual abuse material was up 21 per cent and up 67 per cent in Kelowna.

The local ICE unit dealt with 70 files last year, compared to 42 in 2021 and 30 in 2020.

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In January, Kelowna RCMP said it was a result of the growing prevalence of these cases that prompted the creation of a dedicated investigative team of police officers to identify, pursue, and disrupt offenders of these crimes.

It is only the second dedicated detachment-based unit of its kind within the B.C. RCMP. Until recently, in Kelowna the Frontline and General Investigation officers conducted these investigations in concert with the B.C. Integrated Child Exploitation Unit (BC ICE).

For more information on how to protect children, the RCMP provided two online resources, Canadian Centre for Child Protection and Children of The Street.

Anyone with information about a child being exploited for a sexual purpose is asked to visit http://www.cybertip.ca or call the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300.