Authorities say that a man from Oyen is facing a series of child pornography charges relating to an incident involving an underage girl.
RCMP says that the charges were laid after a joint investigation with Medicine Hat ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit.
On February 28, police were contacted by the parent of a young girl who had found a series of concerning messages between her daughter and an adult male on her daughter’s cell phone.
About a week later, members of the ICE Unit and Oyen RCMP arrested Austin Palmer, 18, of Oyen and executed a search warrant on his home.
Several electronic devices were seized and an initial investigation discovered a number of child pornography images.
Palmer has been charged with:
- two counts of luring a child
- possession of child pornography
- accessing child pornography
- distributing child pornography
- failing to comply with a probation order
A more extensive search of the devices seized at Palmer’s home is scheduled to take place in the near future.
He is expected to appear in court on March 20, 2018.
