Edmonton man charged in U.S. child pornography investigation

The Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT) says a man from Edmonton has been charged in connection to a U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation.

ALERT says in August, it was notified by the HSI of an ongoing investigation into child pornography in Florida.

The Edmonton man, who has been identified as 54-year-old Trevor Smiley, had allegedly been in conversations and had allegedly shared child sexual exploitation material with a man in Florida.

The Florida man — 41-year-old Jason Davis from Cooper City — was reportedly taken into custody on July 31, as part of the investigation by HSI.

Following Davis being taken into custody, HSI discovered a large-scale, online group chat that was dedicated to sharing images and videos showing the sexual abuse of children.

The discovery led HSI to identifying Smiley and a man in Massachusetts, who was also arrested.

ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit took Smiley into custody on Aug. 28 and executed a search warrant for his home.

From the search, ICE found and seized various electronic devices.

“It’s incredibly concerning to see these acts happening in our community, and even more so when we understand the connections of the people involved. Our forensic technicians are combing through the seized devices and while our investigation continues, we’re asking that anyone that has information to come forward,” said Sgt. Randy Poon, ALERT ICE.

Police are asking if anyone has any information regarding this investigation to contact their local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.