A Birken man faces multiple charges after an investigation revealed he had obtained and distributed child pornography online, police said.
Earlier this month, B.C.’s Integrated Child Exploitation Unit (BC ICE) notified Whistler police that the 34-year-old suspect had used social media to disseminate child porn. Whistler RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair was unsure of the nature of the illicit materials.
The man was later arrested at a Pemberton residence without incident and now faces multiple charges for possessing, accessing and distributing child pornography.
“That’s to start with and there may be more charges forthcoming,” said LeClair, who would not comment further on the ongoing investigation.
Police also seized evidence belonging to the suspect as part of the investigation.
Although the Birken resident has a criminal record, he has not been previously convicted of a sex offence, noted LeClair.
The suspect is not being named as he had yet to appear in court at press time.
An investigation carried out by BC ICE this summer found “a troubling number of people in the province exchanging digital child pornography,” according to a release.
Between April 1 and Sept. 30, 2014, investigators discovered 1,228 unique instances of illegal materials being exchanged online through peer-to-peer file sharing networks.
“Frankly, even as a police officer who investigates this type of crime, the extent of the problem is disturbing,” said Inspector Ed Boettcher in the release. “A single exchange of material where a child was victimized is too many, this many instances over a six month period is tragic.”
Three Whistler men caught snorting cocaine outside police station
Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In what has become something of a regular trend for local police, three Whistler residents were caught snorting cocaine directly outside of an RCMP detachment window on Oct. 9.
“(An officer) heard a glass bottle break and then a snorting sound,” LeClair said.
Officers made the short walk outside to discover the three men sniffing the drug off an iPhone, police said. All three were arrested for possession after each was found with a small baggie of a powdered, white substance.
The 22-, 24- and 28-year-old Whistler men by way of Quebec were released with a future court date.
Pot, coke, MDMA and heroin seized from vehicle at roadblock, police say
A routine roadblock resulted in drug charges for two men who were discovered with several banned substances on Oct. 11.
An officer detected “a strong odour of fresh marijuana” coming from a vehicle as it approached a roadblock on Blackcomb Way that was set up following a collision up the street, LeClair said.
A search of the passenger uncovered a small amount of cocaine and marijuana, while a subsequent search of the vehicle led to the seizure of suspected heroin and MDMA as well, police said.
Both suspects, a 25-year-old Surrey man and a 26-year-old Delta man, now face multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance.
Police nab suspects linked to rash of vehicle break-ins at Shannon Falls
Police conducting surveillance at Shannon Falls last week were led to a pair of suspects believed to be responsible for a number of thefts in the area.
On Thursday, Oct. 8, just two days after a vehicle parked at Shannon Falls was reportedly broken into, Squamish police set up surveillance and observed what appeared to be a theft in progress.
The suspects were later stopped in West Vancouver where officers recovered some stolen property from their vehicle, a 2006 H3 Hummer, which was also seized.
The Lower Mainland men are believed to be responsible for “numerous other thefts from vehicles” that took place in recent weeks at Shannon Falls and other local tourist attractions, police said. They now face charges of mischief and theft.
Man reportedly assaulted after accidentally knocking down sign
A Whistler man was allegedly assaulted last week after knocking down a sign belonging to a Function Junction business.
“The victim apparently knocked down a sign belonging to the suspect by accident,” said Whistler RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair.
A 30-year-old Whistler man later turned himself in to police and now faces assault charges.
Police suspect Squamish house fire may have been arson
Squamish police believe a house fire last week may have been set intentionally.
On Tuesday, Oct. 6, an unoccupied house at Tantalus Acres on Squamish Valley Road caught fire and burned to the ground.
So far there have been no witnesses to the fire, which erupted in an isolated area, police said.
“While arson is suspected, no solid suspect has surfaced to date,” read a release from the Squamish RCMP.
The fire remains under investigation.
Stolen ATV recovered in Lillooet linked to Whistler break-in, RCMP says
Mounties believe an ATV that was recovered by tribal police in Lillooet this week was stolen from a residence in Whistler.
On Monday, Oct. 12, Stl’atl’imx Tribal Police stopped a man operating a side-by-side ATV and found documents inside the vehicle indicating it may have been taken from a garage in the Wedgewood subdivision in Whistler.
“Our members attended to that area and discovered the place had been broken into, but we don’t know when it actually happened,” noted LeClair.
A 37-year-old Prince George man was arrested in connection to the alleged theft.
