CALGARY

Drumheller man faces child pornography, child luring charges

A file photo of an RCMP cruiser. (Sean Amato/CTV News Edmonton)

A file photo of an RCMP cruiser. (Sean Amato/CTV News Edmonton)

RCMP say a Drumheller man is facing child pornography charges after he allegedly had inappropriate conversations with an American teenager.

Officers launched an investigation a year ago after Indiana police contacted RCMP with concerns that a man in the southern Alberta town had been engaged in sexually explicit conversations with a 16-year-old victim from the state.

RCMP worked with the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team's Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit, Indiana police and Homeland Security to investigate the allegations.

On Jan. 19, RCMP and ICE officers executed a search warrant and took one man into custody.

Shawn Albrecht, 45, is charged with the following:

Making sexually-explicit material available to someone under 18,
Luring a child,
Possession of child pornography, and
Accessing child pornography.

Albrecht was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 18.

Anyone with information about online child exploitation offences is asked to contact their local police service or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

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