Nunavut RCMP arrest two Iqaluit teens on child porn charges

Two Iqaluit teenagers will return May 22 to the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit in connection with charges laid after an RCMP investigation into child pornography in Iqaluit. (FILE PHOTO)

The Nunavut RCMP have finished an investigation into what they call “child pornography” in Iqaluit, resulting in the arrest of two teenagers, aged 19 and 16.

Last month, the RCMP received a complaint about a man trying to obtain explicit images from two young women in Iqaluit over Facebook, the Nunavut RCMP said in a March 23 release.

The Iqaluit RCMP then launched what it called “an extensive investigation,” with help from the Iqaluit Crime Reduction Unit, V Division Major Crime Unit, the V Division Federal Operations Section, V Division Forensic Identification Unit and the D Division Technological Crime Unit.

The investigation culminated on March 21, when early morning search warrants were executed at two separate Iqaluit residences, the RCMP release said.

As a result of the investigation and evidence obtained during the searches, two teenagers, 19 and 16, both from Iqaluit, were arrested and have since been charged, police said.

The 19-year-old, who has been charged as an adult, faces two counts of child luring and one count of possessing child pornography.

The youth, aged 16, has been charged with two counts of child luring, two counts of distributing child pornography, two counts of knowingly publishing intimate images without consent and one count of exposing himself to a person under 16 for a sexual purpose.

Both accused appeared March 22 at the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit for a bail hearing and both were released on conditions.

Their next court appearance, also at the Nunavut Court of Justice, is scheduled for May 22.

“The RCMP encourages everyone to be a voice for children who are, or may be, victims of sexual exploitation. Report suspected offences to your local police or by using Canada’s National tip line for reporting online sexual exploitation of children at www.cybertip.ca,” the RCMP said in its release.