4 Years Later, No-One Held Responsible for Horrific Death of 4 y/o Serenity

Prosecutor stays criminal charge in Serenity case

The four-year-old died in 2014

Janice Johnston, Paige Parsons · CBC News 

Serenity was four years old when she died of severe head trauma in an Edmonton hospital. (Supplied)

An Alberta prosecutor has stayed a criminal charge against the guardians of four-year-old Serenity, who died after suffering injuries while in kinship care.

The case prompted public outrage and an emergency debate in the Alberta legislature. Her death led to the creation of a panel looking into the province's child-intervention system.

Crown prosecutor Brandy Shaw filed the stay of proceedings Tuesday in Wetaskiwin Court of Queen's Bench.

"The charges were stayed following review of the evidence at the preliminary inquiry and a determination that we no longer had a reasonable likelihood of conviction," Shaw said in an email Tuesday.

Accused dispute the claims of horrific abuse

More than two years after four-year-old Serenity died in 2014, horrific details emerged about her apparent injuries at the time of her death.

The little girl's guardians claimed she fell off a tire swing, but some of her medical reports, leaked to the media, indicated she had bruising in her genital and pubic areas and a missing hymen.

Those reports were erroneous and inaccurate, the guardians claim in an amended statement of defence in response to a $1.6-million lawsuit filed by Serenity's mother.

New photos revealed of child who died in kinship care

"[Serenity's] hymen was intact at the time of her Sept. 18, 2014 swing accident and her hymen was intact at the time of her autopsy," the guardians claim in their May 2019 response to the mother's 2016 civil suit.

"The allegation that Serenity was missing her hymen is completely false."

Serenity was living in a kinship care arrangement on a central Alberta reserve when she was admitted to an Edmonton hospital in September 2014. She died a week later after she was taken off life support.

The case prompted public outrage and an emergency debate in the Alberta legislature. Her death led to the creation of a panel looking into the province's child-intervention system. The provincial government later revamped its system for child intervention, based on recommendations from the panel.

The man and woman, who were the child's legal guardians, had been charged two years after the little girl's 2014 death with failure to provide the necessaries of life.

CBC is not publishing Serenity's surname, or identifying her mother or her caregivers in order to protect the identities of Serenity's siblings.

"We're all heartbroken because of this. The fight is not over. It's far from over," Serenity's mother said in an interview Tuesday.

The mother said Crown prosecutors and police investigators travelled to British Columbia and met with her Tuesday afternoon to give her the news. 

She said she told them she does not want to speak with them anymore because they did nothing for her child, and then walked out of the meeting.

Grandchildren left in home

When Serenity was still clinging to life in an Edmonton hospital, custody of Serenity and her two siblings was transferred back their biological mother. The two siblings were apprehended from the home.

However, other children in the home — up to six grandchildren of the former foster parents —  stayed behind.  

'An agonizing case'

After a preliminary hearing in Wetaskiwin in February of this year, the pair was ordered to stand trial. The trial was due to begin this fall.

In a statement, Eric Tolppanen, assistant deputy minister of the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, said there was no longer any reasonable likelihood of conviction. 

"In general, Crown consideration of a case continues to evolve after the initial decision is made to lay charges, and Crown prosecutors continue to evaluate the evidence in light of the prosecution standard of 'reasonable likelihood of conviction'," said Tolppanen. 

Tolppanen added that the Crown has one year to potentially reinstate the charge and declined further comment. 

Alberta Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer said the decision to stay the charge was made by the Crown, without government involvement. 

"This is an agonizing case," said Schweitzer in a statement. "The decision to stay the prosecution was taken independently by the Crown attorneys without any involvement by elected officials."

Schweitzer noted there is a pending fatality inquiry and would not be commenting further on the matter. 

Joshua Asp, the lawyer for the male accused, said Tuesday he did not know the stay was coming, but said he believes it's because his client and the co-accused are innocent, and because the prosecution have "an extremely weak case." 

Asp said he is unable to disclose more information about the case until it is clear that the publication ban on the preliminary hearing has been lifted. 

The charge was only laid after "extreme public pressure" on the legislature and media reports, said Asp. "My client has been ostracized in his community," he said.

He said he hasn't yet been able to reach his client to deliver the news, but that he has relayed it to the man's family members. 

Serenity had been in living in a kinship placement with her relatives on a central Alberta reserve.

Full legal guardianship of Serenity and her two siblings had been awarded to her kinship caregivers one year before she was admitted to hospital in September 2014.

According to an investigation by Alberta's Child and Youth Advocate Del Graff, Serenity and her two older siblings had been left in the care of relatives despite complaints about abuse.

Medical records indicate she was suffering from catastrophic injuries, including a fractured skull and starvation. She was hypothermic. There has never been any indication Serenity's caregivers were responsible for her injuries. 

She died on Sept. 27, 2014.

Serenity's caregivers said at the time she had fallen from a tire swing. But a forensic pediatrician determined her injuries were inconsistent with a fall.

A fatality inquiry has been ordered into her death once the criminal investigation has concluded.

Serenity was four years old when she died of severe head trauma in an Edmonton hospital. Some of her supporters rallied Saturday outside of the Alberta legislature. (Jordan Mesiatowsky/Radio-Canada)

Family and friends of a four-year-old girl who died in 2014 gathered at the Alberta Legislature Saturday, calling for something they've asked for repeatedly: justice.

A handful of protesters chanted "justice for Serenity," who died after suffering injuries while in kinship care.

Her death led to the creation of a panel looking into the province's child-intervention system.

The rally comes after an Alberta prosecutor stayed a criminal charge against Serenity's guardians on Tuesday.

Supporters are calling for justice for the little girl. (Jordan Mesiatowsky/Radio-Canada)

The Crown has one year to potentially reinstate the charge.

Heather Workman, a friend of Serenity's family, said the case highlights a systemic flaw.

"There's a responsibility for all of the systems to work in a healthy manner to protect children," Workman said. "Something within the system failed to do so."

Probably more than one something!

REVWORDS

Bob Jones

More Than Justice

As of August 13, 2019 no one has been found responsible for this little’s girl’s death. No. One.

I feel responsible.

Serenity’s death is not someone else’s problem. The problem is, all too soon her story will be replaced in your memory by some other headline or trending story.

Serenity’s story is a call to action. Albertans must do everything we can to prevent tragedies like this one.

There is no justice for Serenity but you and I can do something.

Awareness, Prevention and Healing

1 in every 3 Canadian girls is sexually abused.

1 in every 6 Canadian boys is sexually abused.

75% of abuse that is reported is initiated by a family member.

Childhood trauma, mental illness, and addiction are linked. I’ve spent forty years of my life helping adults deal with addictions and mental illness. For too long I missed the childhood trauma piece.

I am devoted to preventing childhood sexual abuse and helping survivors of childhood traumas through the work of Little Warriors and the Be Brave Ranch. Sign up for free training on preventing child sexual abuse.

I’ve taken the course and will be taking it again.

And in the heartache of injustice, keep in mind all the foster families in Alberta who are doing a wonderful job loving and supporting the 10,000 boys and girls in our care.

I'm not sure where Glori Meldrum, Little Warriors, got their statistics from. I don't doubt them, although I suspect for most Canadian children the numbers are a little lower than that. But for indigenous children, I suspect they are much higher. Thanks, largely, to abuse in Residential Schools suffered by generations of first nations children. Even several decades since most of the schools were closed, that abuse and sexual abuse has, unfortunately, been passed on to new generations.

I believe a serious study will find a clear link between high levels of drug and alcohol abuse and teen suicides in remote First Nations villages, and generational child sexual abuse. And, I suspect that can be linked back to Residential Schools.

The laudable program of placing aboriginal children in care in family, or First Nations homes, may be putting them at higher risk of abuse, suffering, and death.

I ask all Albertans to refuse to let this child's suffering and death go for nothing. Please, pray for all children in care, they are at a higher danger rate for abuse, and please keep pressure on the government and various agencies involved to find out exactly why Serenity was silenced and make sure it doesn't happen again.

Alberta Court Hears That Children Were Taken Out of School by “Facilitators” to Gay-Straight Conferences Without Parental Knowledge

Sex Education in Alberta schools is run by the far-left, determined to bring about cultural suicide. British Columbia is no better off. Sex-ed must be rescued from the hands of anti-family extremists.

By Jonathon Van Maren

This will come as no surprise to anyone, but as Alberta’s religious schools battle it out with the NDP government over Gay-Straight Alliance Clubs and the government’s demand that parents not be told of their children’s activities at schools, it turns out that the government is again lying to parents and to the public. Licia Corbella has been doing a magnificent job of covering this story for the Calgary Herald, and on December 4 noted that there were some “shocking revelations” on Monday at the Alberta Court of Appeal:

Jay Cameron, a lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) and the appellant in this case, revealed evidence that shows children in one GSA were taken off school grounds by an adult “facilitator” who is not a staff member at the school and doesn’t even have children attending the school. The facilitator took children to the facilitator’s home and to other schools with GSAs, driving them in a personal vehicle without the parents’ consent or knowledge. As is mandated under the Alberta government’s Bill 24, it is against the law to inform parents of their child’s involvement in a GSA.

You don’t have to be an applicant in this case to be alarmed by such revelations.

The JCCF is appealing a ruling by Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Johanna Kubik, who ruled on June 27 against granting an interim injunction that would have stayed sections of the school act prohibiting principals from using their discretion to tell parents about their child attending a GSA. They also sought to prohibit Alberta’s Minister of Education, David Eggen, from defunding or de-accrediting schools for non-compliance with GSA legislation.

Cameron also told the three Appeal Court Justices — Chair Frederica Schutz, Bruce McDonald and Dawn Pentelechuk — that in another case, a 13-year-old boy who was a member of a GSA was taken off school grounds to a GSA conference.

The boy was told that “his mother would not know if he attended a GSA conference and miss all of his classes,” said Cameron, who is representing 26 religious schools, including Christian, Sikh and Jewish schools, that object to the secrecy provisions of GSA legislation, arguing that it violates two sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — Section 7, which only permits interference with a parent’s role after due process, on a case-by-case basis, and Section 2, the fundamental right to freedom of religion.

Cameron pointed out that at the off-site GSA conference, the boy said he “watched a demonstration on how to put a condom on a banana; he was given materials with a space ship shaped like a giant penis with a caption “explore your anus”; (and), he was given a 50-page flip book with step-by-step instructions on how to have sex, with what appears to be an older individual,” Cameron told the court packed with about 60 people inside the room and another 60 outside, where the proceedings could be followed on a screen.

Court heard the boy was also given 153 condoms. Cameron said the boy did not learn about sexually transmitted infections at the conference but had to learn that information from his mother once she found the graphic materials in his room.

The Crown objected to that evidence being considered in the appeal. Later, Crown attorney Kristan McLeod told the court that parents are supposed to be told when their children are taken off school grounds. And therein lies the rub of this legislation. There are no controls over what materials are provided and by whom or even whether kids can leave the school without parental consent.

“It is our respectful submission that young children should not be provided with graphic flip books on how to have sex; there is a line between where that is appropriate and where it is not and right now there are no parameters,” Cameron added.

He pointed out that parents need not be religious to believe “it’s wisest not to have sex at an early age with multiple partners” and that the GSA legislation, as it stands, jeopardizes the safety of Alberta’s children, especially the most vulnerable, and undermines parents’ ability to support and protect their own children.

All of the justices repeatedly asked questions of the Crown about Eggen threatening schools with having their funding and accreditation removed, if they don’t comply with Bill 24.

Justice Kubik had ruled back in June that there was no evidence that a school’s funding or accreditation was at risk. Clearly, now it is. One of the intervenors in the case, lawyer Brendan MacArthur-Stevens, made many compelling points from the opposite point of view.

“Many students will have joined GSAs over the past year in reliance on the enhanced privacy protections the legislation provides,” he said on behalf of the Calgary Sexual Health Centre.

“Pulling the rug out from under these students and temporarily stripping these enhanced privacy protections away . . . would be grossly unfair to this vulnerable population,” he argued.

In other words, those who are advocating for a system in which children can be pulled out of classes, without the knowledge of their parents, and taken to conferences with sexually explicit materials and even instructions, are arguing that it would be unfair to those kids for parents to informed in case those parents might disagree with such goings-on. Additionally, the government is saying in court that parents should be informed if children are taken off school grounds, but it is their own legislation that has ensured parents are not told. And then there is simply the fact that that an adult “facilitator” of a Gay-Straight Alliance Club is taking kids out of school without their parent’s knowledge and at one point took a child to his or her home. That is appalling.

If such a child is sexually abused at a 'facilitator's' home, the lawsuit would be spectacular! I can't imagine a scenario where the school, the Dept of Education, and the Minister of Education would be more liable for enabling child sex abuse of its students to occur.

Corbella followed up with a report on December 5, noting that teachers and principals who attended the Alberta Court of Appeal hearing are pointing out that the government is giving “inaccurate” information in court about how Gay-Straight alliances are governed. Alberta’s NDP government, she wrote, appears to be providing conflicting information:

During the hearing, Crown attorney Kristan McLeod told the three justices that the only thing schools are not allowed to share with parents is who is attending a GSA — a club that must be established at a school should a student request one.

“There is not secrecy around the establishment of GSAs,” McLeod told justices Frederica Schutz, Bruce McDonald and Dawn Pentelechuk in a courtroom packed with about 60 people inside and another 60 watching proceedings outside the courtroom.

“Parents are allowed to find out about which activities their GSAs are engaging in,” said McLeod. “Schools and teachers are allowed to control what those activities are. There needs to be parental notification about any off-school activities, whether there needs to be vetting of any materials being distributed, what the activities are. The only thing that is not allowed to be disclosed is whether or not a child is attending a GSA.”

That, however, is not what the legislation says, it is not what the Alberta government said in response to a question on the issue Tuesday, it is not what government documents — particularly what has been dubbed the Rainbow Reprimand — state, it’s not what Education Minister David Eggen has repeatedly said and it runs counter to evidence provided to the court on Monday and by numerous teachers and principals.

Section 16.1(1) of the School Act states that if a student asks to set up a GSA, the principal of the school “shall immediately” grant permission and “is responsible for ensuring that notification, if any, respecting a voluntary student organization or an activity referred to in subsection (1) is limited to the fact of the establishment of the organization or the holding of the activity.”

“There’s a flaw in the law,” said Jay Cameron, a lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, which is representing the 26 schools in the appeal. “What’s happening on the ground is that the legislation restricts the information parents are told about their children. Principals can’t tell parents that their kids are attending a GSA conference off of school grounds without informing the parents that their child is attending a GSA.”

In the colour-coded government document sent to schools whose safe and caring policies do not comply with Bill 24, on Page 5 (just one of numerous examples) the government highlighted in green a school policy that reads: “Planning of events (including invitation of outside speakers) and notification about activities to be undertaken will be in accordance with the usual practices and responsibilities of the school.” (The bolded portion was highlighted to be removed.)

…Two teachers from a central Alberta Christian school told Postmedia on Tuesday that a “field services manager” who was working with them in an effort to help their school become compliant with Bill 24 told them that the information the school can share with a parent is “limited to the fact of the establishment” of the GSA. Postmedia heard a recording of the conversation.

Only in the case of a student being in dire risk of harm could any information be shared with parents, the field services manager said during an almost two-hour telephone conversation that was taped in July. If a teacher or principal defies this legislation, they can have their certification to teach stripped.

When asked to clarify what can or can’t be divulged under Bill 24, a spokesperson with Alberta Education wrote Tuesday: “All the information you’re looking for can be found here: https://education.alberta.ca/gay-straight-alliances/what-is-a-gsa/.”

The pertinent sentence states: “Clarifying that parental notification around courses of study, educational programs or instructional materials does not apply to student organizations or activities, including GSAs and QSAs.”

“There are no exceptions to the requirement that principals restrict info from parents, except that a club has been established in the school. That’s it,” confirmed Cameron.

If what the Crown attorney said was actually the case, Cameron says, there would be no need for his clients’ legal challenge. 

It is significant that the Crown attorney is misrepresenting the government’s policies and their practice in court: It indicates that the government has perhaps realized that the results of their policies are indefensible. Which Albertan parent is going to be comfortable discovering that their child was taken off school grounds without their knowledge or permission (which is apparently not needed) by a stranger who is not employed by the school and taken to that person’s house, or to a sex conference in which pornographic instructions on different sex acts are given? Which parent is going to believe that they should be specifically and explicitly cut out of the information loop when decisions about their child’s wellbeing and sexual education are at stake?

The NDP government will probably try to write off the instances provided by JCCF as aberrations, but the truth is that they are the logical consequence—if not the intended consequence—of Bill 24. Education Minister David Eggen and his ideological cronies want children to be given the sort of sex education they see fit, and they do not want any interference from the parents. They are giving children sexual information, and in some instances even pornographic material and sexual instructions, under the guise of protecting children from their parents. They are gaslighting Albertan parents, and they must be stopped at all costs.

____________________________________

For anyone interested, my book on The Culture War, which analyzes the journey our culture has taken from the way it was to the way it is and examines the Sexual Revolution, hook-up culture, the rise of the porn plague, abortion, commodity culture, euthanasia, and the gay rights movement, is available for sale here.

Syrian Refugee Charged for 'Multiple Sex Assaults' at West Edmonton Mall waterpark

A 39-year-old Syrian refugee has been charged after several sexual assaults took place at the West Edmonton Mall World Waterpark this weekend.

Officers say Soleiman Hajj Soleiman inappropriately touched girls while they were swimming 16.  All the girls were under Police were called to the park at around 10:30 PM Saturday. 

According to Global News, EPS spokesperson Scott Pattison said “The girls were very courageous in coming forward and talking to the lifeguard, that’s not always the case.” 

Hajj Soleiman is a Syrian refugee and a father of six. He has been charged with six counts of sexual assault and six counts of sexual interference.

The Edmonton Police Service Zebra Child Protection Section has taken over the investigation. Pattison says police believe there may be other complainants. He urges them to come forward.

There is a conspicuous absence of 'child sex abuse' charges mentioned in this story. The ages of the girls are under 16, that makes them offences against children.  

Canada's liberal MSM (main stream media) is already painting the story in a different light. Rebel Media, possibly the only non-left news source in the country, released the news that the alleged perpetrator was a Syrian refugee. Some MSM outlets mentioned it, others did not deal with it until then. At that time, refugees became the victims of fear-mongers (like me) who want that information out there.

Yes, there have been some over-reactions by people that are not helpful, but the real problem here is the under-reaction by the MSM and the government who will not recognize that this is a problem that will repeat itself if nothing is done. If you have been reading this blog you will find frequent mention of such happenings in swimming pools in Europe - sexual assaults on young girls by refugee boys and men who can't control themselves and who value girls as objects of their pleasure.

This man should be investigated to see if he treats his own daughters in like manner.

Meanwhile, Muslims are pressuring MSM to not include the background of refugees who are accused of criminal activity. That's all we need! Soon we will be like Sweden and keep all police action involving asylum seekers secret. Are we prepared to sacrifice Canadian girls on the altar of political correctness and stupidity? It appears so.

Alexander Wagar Acquitted in 'Knees Together' Sexual Assault Retrial

Calgarian retried after controversial acquittal by Justice Robin Camp, now fighting to keep Federal Court job

By Meghan Grant, CBC News 

Alexander Wagar was on trial for sexual assault for a second time nearly two years after he was acquitted by controversial Alberta Judge Robin Camp. He was acquitted by a second judge Tuesday. (Janice Fletcher)

Outbursts in courtroom as sex assault retrial begins for man acquitted by controversial Alberta judge

A Calgary man who was retried in a sexual assault case — after initially being acquitted by a judge who asked the alleged rape victim why she didn't just keep her knees together — was acquitted again on Tuesday.

Alexander Scott Wagar, 29, was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman at a party, but was acquitted in the first trial in 2014 by Justice Robin Camp, who was a provincial court judge at the time but was later promoted to the Federal Court. 

The acquittal was overturned and a new trial was ordered after the Alberta Court of Appeal reviewed transcripts of the trial, exposing the inappropriate comments and questions made by the South Africa-educated judge.

It seems like the reporter thinks if Camp had been educated in Canada he wouldn't have asked such a bonehead question.

The second trial for Wagar, 29, ended in November 2016 and a second judge delivered a second acquittal Tuesday.

Outbursts in courtroom as sex assault retrial begins for man acquitted by controversial Alberta judge

Court heard that Wagar met a woman, JM, at a party in 2011 and the pair ended up in a bathroom together.

Wagar testified they had consensual sex, while JM — who is known publicly only by those initials because her identity is under a publication ban — told the judge she was raped on a bathroom sink.

JM testified she was raped by Wagar at a party. Her name is under a publication ban. 

(Meghan Grant/CBC)

Lethbridge Assistant Chief Judge Jerry LeGrandeur presided over the provincial court trial in Calgary, likely to avoid any conflict for Calgary-based judges who would have worked with Camp.

LeGrandeur made a point of noting evidence from the first trial was not a factor in his decision.

The judge said both Wagar and JM had "credibility issues" but noted several inconsistencies, in particular, in her testimony, including how she went back and forth on whether she had been drinking for days leading up to the party.

Wagar, with a furrowed brow, rested his head on a closed fist, sometimes nodding and sometimes shaking his head as the judge read out his reasoning in a lengthy preamble before delivering the decision.

As he exited the courtroom, Wagar shouted in celebration: "Yeah!"

Wagar the 'true victim,' defence says

Wagar's lawyer, Pat Flynn, said his client suffered "tremendously" during the two trials. 

"He is the true victim, as far as I'm concerned," Flynn told reporters. "He's been in custody now for over two years, twice waiting for trial on this matter."

Flynn said Wagar's mother passed away last month and that Wagar was unable to see her before she died.

He said he's pleased with LeGrandeur's decision.

"I think this reminds us that there are innocent people who are charged with sexual assault, and we must remind ourselves that they have that right of presumption of innocence," Flynn said.

'Cooling effect' feared

Prosecutor Janice Walsh said the Crown may consider an appeal.

"Some of the judge's comments certainly give pause for future cases of sexual assault," she said.

Walsh said she fears the decision will have a "cooling effect" on other complainants coming forward.

"We still have some work to do to determine whether or not this is the end of our story, and we're going to do that work," Walsh said.

Camp's acquittal overturned 

During the retrial, court heard evidence from Lindsay Winter, a front-line worker at the Mustard Seed shelter where JM sometimes slept.

Winter testified JM called her in tears the night of the alleged attack and said she'd been sexually assaulted.

The next morning, JM showed up at the shelter and Winter said she was able to convince the teen to report the incident to police.

Wagar told court he believes JM is accusing him of rape because his brother called her a "slut" and because she saw the accused cuddling with another woman right after he and JM had sex.

Camp fighting to keep job

During the first trial in 2014, Camp asked JM several times throughout the trial why she hadn't done more to prevent the attack.

At the first trial, the woman who said she was raped was asked by then provincial court Judge Robin Camp why she didn't prevent the attack by keeping her knees together. (Trial transcript)

Camp asked JM: "Why couldn't you just keep your knees together?"

Camp also implied the complainant could have prevented the attack by "sinking her bottom down into the [sink] basin."

A five-member inquiry panel recommended that Federal Court Justice Robin Camp be removed from the bench over comments he made during a 2014 sexual assault trial when he was an Alberta provincial court judge. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

Camp's comments and subsequent complaints made with the Canadian Judicial Council led to an inquiry that took place in September. 

Camp admitted to several mistakes during the trial and told the inquiry he was "very sorry" for the "hurtful" comments he made to the complainant.

However, a panel of five Superior Court judges and senior lawyers unanimously recommended Camp lose his job.

Most recently, Camp's lawyer has asked he be allowed to plead his case in person to the Canadian Judicial Council.

Flynn called Camp's comments in the initial trial "unfortunate."

"I don't want to be flippant on this, but would you rather have your judge make the right decision, and say something inappropriate, or to be politically correct and get the wrong decision?" he said.

Since it was created in 1971, the Canadian Judicial Council has only recommended two other judges be removed.

The judges in both cases resigned before the recommendations made it to Parliament, which ultimately decides whether or not to dismiss a Canadian judge.

Man Charged with Sex Trafficking, Assaulting Two Women in Edmonton

Police believe there may be additional victims

in Alberta and Saskatchewan

CBC News 

Omar Abdi Ahmed is facing a total of 18 charges in relation to a pair of sexual assaults. (Edmonton Police )

An Edmonton man is facing human trafficking and other charges after two women were allegedly sold for sex and sexually assaulted.

Investigators believe the same man may have trafficked other women in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and that he may have used social media sites to approach women.

Omar Abdi Ahmed, 24, — also known as Jojo — is facing a total of 18 charges, Edmonton police said in a news release Friday. Ahmed is from Winnipeg but has family in Edmonton, police said. 

He is in custody.

The police investigation began on Dec. 7, when patrol officers were called to a reported sexual assault in the area of 154th Street and 111th Avenue.

Police determined that an 18-year-old woman had been assaulted and trafficked over several days.

Ahmed is facing six charges in relation to the incident, including human trafficking, procuring, receiving a financial or material benefit from sexual services, advertising sexual services, sexual assault and unlawful confinement.

On Dec. 28, police responded to another report of an assault in the area of 38th Avenue and Gateway Boulevard.There, officers found a 20-year-old woman who had been threatened, choked and trafficked for sex.

Ahmed has been charged with 12 offences in connection with the second incident.

They include human trafficking, receiving a financial or material benefit from sexual services, procuring, advertising sexual services, withholding traffic documents, forcible confinement, uttering threats, choking with intent to overcome, assault, mischief and two counts of breach of recognizance.

Investigators believe Ahmed may have trafficked other women, using social media sites to approach them. Other victims may be in Alberta and Saskatchewan, they said.

Police have released a photo of the accused as they believe there may additional victims who have yet to come forward.

Acting Staff Sgt. Melanie Grace from the EPS vice unit said in a news release Friday: "I encourage anyone who has been approached by Ahmed or feels they have been trafficked or exploited by him to contact police as soon as possible.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Edmonton police or Crime Stoppers.

Fearing Vigilantes, Judge Protects Privacy of Sex Offender

'I have anonymized the accused,'

Court of Queen's Bench justice said

about convicted sexual predator

By Janice Johnston, CBC News 

We have unanonymized him

    Kenneth Blake Rode, 53, was convicted in October of one count of internet luring,
    and is serving a 15-month sentence. (Facebook)

An Alberta judge independently decided last month to withhold the identity of a man he had convicted of internet luring.

A mandatory publication ban protects the victim, who was only 11 years old when she began exchanging highly sexual text messages with a man old enough to be her grandfather.

'It does seem to run counter to that general principle

of the openness of the court system.'

-Sean Sinclair, media lawyer

No one asked Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brian Burrows to shield the accused's name.

When CBC News asked why he had done so, Burrows issued a two-page document titled "Supplementary Reasons for Judgment." In it, he quoted himself from the court transcript.

Judge feared 'vigilantism'

"In the judgment, I have anonymized the accused," Burrows said in court on Oct. 25. "I've done that because on my own motion without anybody suggesting that I should … because of the nature of the allegations. I think [of] the recent news of vigilante reactions to such allegations. So I have used initials for the accused's name."

Burrows's decision appeared to take the Crown prosecutor and defence by surprise.

Neither lawyer would comment on the record about the decision to protect the man's identity. CBC News contacted media lawyers outside Alberta for reaction.

"Well, it's certainly an unusual decision," Saskatoon media lawyer Sean Sinclair said. "It does seem to run counter to that general principle of the openness of the court system."

A sexual assault victims' advocate and the founder of Little Warriors, a Canadian national charity dedicated to the awareness, prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse, was even harsher in her assessment.

"You know, I think it's not only an insult to the process, but it's also an insult to the victim," Glori Meldrum said.

'It makes the conviction toothless'

"I believe this particular judge is going in the wrong direction," Vancouver media lawyer David Sutherland said.

"Creep Catchers arises because the justice system isn't catching or deterring these perverted perpetrators," Sutherland said. "Luring of young victims continues. With all due respect to Justice Burrows, the existence of Creep Catchers is not a basis to anonymize the accused.

"Somebody's got to think of the kids that get lured. Basically, the courts are kind of covering up for the perpetrator. It makes the conviction toothless."

Sinclair said that in his experience, the decision appears to be unprecedented.

"I haven't seen it in this context," he said. "Where a judge on his own motion, without any evidence, it appears, having been tendered, decides on his own volition to anonymize a decision to protect the person who's been convicted."

Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Brian Burrows decided last month to withhold the identity of a man he had convicted of internet luring. 'I've done that because on my own motion without anybody suggesting that I should … because of the nature of the allegations,' he wrote. (Anglican Church of Canada )

Both lawyers agree Burrows had "inherent jurisdiction" or the right to anonymize the name in his decision. But both also believe the decision does not prohibit others from publishing the accused's name.

"It looks to me that he anonymized his own decision," Sinclair said. "But he doesn't suggest that nobody else can publish the name. He just didn't publish the name in his own decision."

CBC News obtained the perpetrator's name from the court record, and examined the file to ensure no publication ban was in place. The court record shows that Kenneth Blake Rode, 53, was the man convicted on one count of internet luring of a person under age 16.

Rode is now serving a 15-month jail sentence.

Facts of the case

The case began in January 2015, when the parents of an 11-year old girl (referred to in the decision as AB) went to the Edmonton police. They told police they had discovered "their daughter had engaged in sexualized conversations with unknown persons on the internet."  

By the time her parents found out, AB and Rode had engaged in as many as 10 sexually charged online conversations, which included the exchange of graphic photos of their private body parts.

An undercover RCMP officer with the Alberta Integrated Child Exploitation Unit took over AB's account and pretended to be the girl. He let Rode know he was a girl under age 12.  

On Jan. 7, 2015, Rode and the officer posing as AB agreed to meet. The truck driver from southern Alberta was in Edmonton overnight and wanted company.

"Hey, if you here come cuddle up with me and ser (sic) what happens," Rode's text message read.

The undercover officer dropped many clues about age, saying boys she knew still played Pokemon, that she was too young to drive but the tallest in her class and that she was still a virgin.  

None of it deterred Rode.  

"The offer still stands," he wrote.  

The married truck driver sat in a Tim Hortons waiting to meet the young girl he wanted to have sex with. Instead, three police officers came in and arrested him.

When Rode testified in his own defence, he insisted he thought he was dealing with a mature woman online. Burrows didn't believe him, but he still protected Rode's identity.

'It makes me angry'

"The public deserves to know who these offenders are," said Meldrum. "When it comes to safety, it should be kids and the public first. The convicted offenders should be at the last of the list.

Little Warriors founder and CEO Glori Meldrum believes protecting children and the public should come before protecting the perpetrator. (CBC)

"This guy has now been convicted of trying to lure this young child. I don't think he deserves the right to be protected from the public and from the media."

In his decision, Burrows said he was concerned about vigilantism. But Meldrum said that doesn't make sense to her.

"I have never heard of anything on the vigilantism side that an offender has been put at risk," she said. "It's definitely not common."  

Burrows is now a semi-retired judge. He has presided over many high-profile cases throughout his career, including the convictions in 2009 of Dennis Cheeseman and Shawn Hennessey in the deaths of four RCMP officers. He also acquitted a young teen in 2013 on murder charges in the so-called Bosco Homes case.  

More Charges Laid Against Alberta Child Porn Suspect

By Leanne Murray

A Blackfalds, Alberta man already accused of travelling to Pennsylvania with intent to have sex with a 16-year-old girl he met online is now facing more charges.

41-year-old Brian Haberman was arrested last October and charged with making explicit material available to a minor as well as possessing, accessing, and making child pornography.

After seizing computers and other electronic devices from Haberman's home, members of ALERT's Internet Child Exploitation unit say they found sexually explicit photos of the teen girl, who they believe was 15 when the online relationship began.

 

ALERT began investigating in March of last year after they received a report from Cybertip.ca, a website to report online sexual exploitation of children.

Over the past several months, Haberman's lawyer had been in negotiations with the Crown Prosecutor to resolve the case.

However, new charges have now been laid after a second alleged victim came forward and Haberman's case will be back in court August 22.

    Blackfalds is a town of about 6500 just north of Red Deer, Alberta

10 Men from Southern Alberta Charged in Child Sexual Exploitation Investigation

A former Alberta Party candidate, an air force pilot

and an accounts manager

Clara Ho, Calgary Herald


From left: William Norn, 68, of Calgary, an air force pilot, and Troy Millington, 45, of Calgary, a former Alberta Party candidate, are among 10 Alberta men charged in a child exploitation investigation.

A former Alberta Party candidate, an air force pilot and an accounts manager are among five Calgarians charged in a lengthy child exploitation investigation.

In total, 10 men from southern Alberta were arrested and charged in Operation Ice Storm 3, an eight-month investigation by ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation or ICE team, which is made up of officers from Calgary, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and the RCMP.

ICE investigates offences involving child pornography, computer-related child sexual abuse, child luring over the Internet, voyeurism involving underage victims and child sex trade/tourism.

Congratulations you guys. God bless you!

This particular operation, currently in its third iteration, focused on child sexual-abuse images and videos being traded on peer-to-peer file sharing networks and targeted high-volume traders, said Det. Justin Brookes, one of the primary investigators.

He noted these 10 individuals represent only “a fraction” of the offenders operating in this province.

“Every day, thousands of child sexual-abuse images and videos are being traded, viewed, downloaded all across the province,” Brookes told reporters Wednesday. “Simply put, we cannot arrest everyone at once. Instead, Ice Storm 3 targeted the suspects with the largest collections and some of the most graphic content.”


Det. Justin Brookes (L) speaks to media as Sheldon Kennedy (R) listens during a press conference in Calgary, Alta at Police headquarters on Wednesday June 29, 2016. Operation ICE Storm 3 has led to the arrest of 10 child sexual exploitation suspects. ALERT's Internet Child Exploitation team made the arrests in Calgary, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge. JIM WELLS / POSTMEDIA

Over the past eight months, investigators executed 30 search warrants across southern Alberta and seized 285 computers, mobile devices and storage drives.

So far, only about half of the devices have undergone forensic analysis, but investigators have already discovered more than 40 terabytes of data containing more than 50,000 individual videos and images depicting child pornography and child sexual exploitation. 

“Some of the victims in the images and the videos are estimated to be as young as six months and depict extreme sexual violence,” Brookes said.

“Some of the victims in the images and the videos are estimated to be as young as six months and depict extreme sexual violence”

At this point, none of the victims identified in the images are believed to be from Alberta, “but we would be naive to believe it’s not taking place in our own backyards,” he added.

Sheldon Kennedy, director of the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre and former NHL star-turned child-rights advocate, said his centre sees about 125 cases a month involving mainly children between the ages of four and seven.

Many of them either present or are at risk of depression, addiction, self-harm or sexualized behaviour. In addition, the centre’s two full-time mental-health clinicians are at capacity dealing with children who have suicidal thoughts.

depression, addiction, self-harm, 

sexualized behaviour, suicidal thoughts

Some of the consequences of child sex abuse

Kennedy said a big problem is that there are still many people who don’t make the connection between images of child pornography and sexual abuse, and that more education and understanding is needed.

“It’s not just an image . . . We see the people, we see the kids that have been hurt,” he said.

The following people were arrested and face charges of possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography and making child pornography available: 

Troy Millington, 45, of Calgary, a former Alberta Party candidate
William Norn, 68, of Calgary, an air force pilot
Robert Rogers, 42, of Lethbridge
Robert Thompson, 33, of Calgary
John Tulloch, 25, of Lethbridge
Stefan Mogck, 35, of Medicine Hat
Michael Henderson, 68, of Medicine Hat
Gabriel Pereira, 42, of Calgary, an accounts manager
Victor Rahal, 52, of Medicine Hat
Oscar Asensio, 41, of Calgary

Brookes said none of the accused men are considered to be in positions of public trust or authority.

In the first Operation Ice Storm launched in April 2014, 10 people were arrested. The second operation last year netted eight arrests.

Advancements in technology and the sheer volume of data police must sift through present challenges for investigators. But Brookes said the ICE team will keep launching Operation Ice Storm investigations as long as there is a need.

He stressed the importance, collectively as a society, to protect our children and to let kids know it’s OK to talk about abuse and speak up. He also urged anyone with information on child online sexual exploitation to report it.

“Your information could save a child.”

Alberta Invests in Child Sex Abuse Victims

BY CLARA HO, POSTMEDIA

 The province announced $1.7 million toward

programs that support child victims of 

sexual and physical abuse

The money will bolster the work done by child advocacy centres, which bring a multitude of resources – police, social workers, doctors – under one roof and work collaboratively to stop violence against children and get victims the help they need.

Human Services Minister Irfan Sabir said the grant funding will support three existing centres – the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre in Calgary, the Zebra Child Protection Centre in Edmonton, and the Caribou Child and Youth Advocacy Centre in Grande Prairie – as well as four emerging centres in Fort McMurray, Lethbridge, Lloydminster and Red Deer.

Curiously, they excluded Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch which the University of Alberta confirmed was working in significantly reducing the psychological effects of child sex abuse. Why?



"This funding will help us duplicate this work and extend this work throughout the province. We’ll be able to provide supports to vulnerable children throughout the province," Sabir told reporters after Thursday morning's announcement at Mount Royal University.

The existing centres will collaborate with community partners at the emerging centres to "essentially replicate the model of the practice the way they are doing things," he added.



Sheldon Kennedy, director of the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre and former NHL star-turned child rights advocate, said he is pleased the government is making child abuse a top priority in Alberta.

Kennedy said kids that have been abused are at risk of experiencing youth homelessness, of dropping out of high school, and male victims are more at risk of perpetrating dating violence.

His centre sees about 125 cases a month, so it's important for partners to work together, share information and collaborate.

"We cannot fiscally afford to keep trying to put the fire out downstream," Kennedy said. "We know that if we can reach kids early, we’ve got a better chance of turning around their lives there than we do down the road."

Bob Hassel, CEO of the Zebra Centre in Edmonton, was also thrilled with the funding announcement.

"We really need consistency in the province as to how we deal with child abuse. No matter where they are in this province, they deserve the same service delivery model," Hassel said.

Need people

"One of the things we need immediately is resources in our centre. We need people to help with this flow of people and children coming through so we can help them navigate through the system."

The Zebra Centre is seeing an increasing caseload, so the funding will help them with building training capacity and building children's support services program, he added.

Hassel said the Zebra Centre, which opened in 2002, was the first of its kind in Canada. Now he estimates there are 25 to 27 in the country. And with Thursday's funding announcement, he said the province has recognized "this is a proven model that works."

I'm not sure how far $1.7 million will go among all those centres, but certainly it will help and it is a good sign that the Alberta government has child sex abuse on its radar. Good for them. I am concerned as to why Little Warriors Be Brave Ranch was left out. Anyone care to explain?

Alberta Mom Charged With Using Her Son to Make Child Pornography - UPDATE

UPDATE - Idaho man who received child porn from Alberta mom arrested, facing many charges
The 43-year-old woman was arrested at the daycare where she worked

By Robson Fletcher, CBC News 


Insp. Dave Dubnyk oversees the internet child exploitation unit with the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams. (CBC)

Update - Male suspect arrested in Idaho

A male suspect has also been arrested in the case. Idaho police announced on May 19 they had arrested Peter Allen Cash, 39, after conducting a search of his home and seizing evidence from his computer.


Peter Allen Cash, 40, was arrested in mid-May by Idaho police and information from U.S. authorities later led to the arrest of a 43-year-old woman in Red Deer. (Canyon County Jail)

The resident of Nampa intended to leave the United States that week and move to Canada, according to Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, prompting police to hasten their investigation and arrest Cash.

He faces nine counts of sexual exploitation of a child in Idaho and has pending charges for possession of child pornography in Missouri, according to U.S. authorities.

He was 39 at the time of his arrest but turned 40 while in custody.

Yesterday's story - 

Authorities in Red Deer, Alberta., have taken a four-year-old boy from his mother, accusing her of sexually abusing the boy and producing child pornography that involved him.

The 43-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday at a licensed daycare in the central Alberta city where she worked, but police said there is no indication any children from the daycare were abused.

"This is a heinous crime that was committed on a young child by the one person they should be able to trust the most," said Insp. Dave Dubnyk, who oversees the internet child exploitation unit of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams.

Dubnyk said the investigation began when the Idaho internet crimes against children unit identified a child who was being sexually abused after photos of the abuse were sent using email.

U.S. police determined the child lived in the Red Deer area and were able to identify his mother as the suspect.

To protect the identity of the boy, police are not naming her.

Child in care of family members

Dubnyk said the child has been transferred to the care of other family members in Red Deer and his mother has been released from custody under "strict conditions to ensure she has no contact with her child."

"Our concern of course is for the health and well-being of this young child," Dubynk said, adding that the child is receiving "all necessary support."

Parents with children at the daycare have been notified. Dubynk stressed there is no evidence any other children were abused, other than the woman's son.

The woman had no previous criminal record and was not previously known to police.

She has been charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation, making child pornography, distributing child pornography, possessing child pornography and accessing child pornography.

Her next court date is set for July 16 in Red Deer.

The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams are made up of members of Alberta Sheriffs, the Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, Lethbridge Police Service, Medicine Hat Police Service and the RCMP.

You guys are all my heroes today. God bless you!

Red Deer, Alberta, Canada