'One of the most egregious offenders': Calgary senior again facing child exploitation charges

An Alberta police unit tasked with investigating incidents of child exploitation is calling a Calgary senior one of the "most egregious offenders" members have ever investigated.

Bernard Hyde, 76, is charged with possessing and accessing child pornography after a Sept. 1 investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams' (ALERT) Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit.

It's not the first time the senior has faced charges for sexual exploitation.

Hyde had previously been charged for similar offences in 2013 and again in 2021.

ICE says a forensic examination of the devices seized in 2021 found over one million photos and videos of child sexual abuse, with some of the materials depicting children as young as infants.

At the time of his most recent arrest, Hyde was subject to a release order and a long-term supervision order with conditions prohibiting him from possessing a computer capable of accessing the internet.

He was arrested again, thanks to a tip from the public, after being spotted allegedly using a computer and Wi-Fi at a local business. 

"This is one of the most egregious offenders the ICE unit has ever investigated," Staff Sgt. Dominic Mayhew said in a Thursday news release.

"With over one million child sexual exploitation materials identified, there doesn’t appear to be any propensity for stopping and past arrests do not appear to have provided any reasonable deterrence."

Hyde's laptop computers and storage devices have been seized from his Calgary apartment.

He remains in police custody.