Victoria, BC – An investigation by the VicPD ICE (Internet Child Exploitation) investigator has led to the arrest of a civilian employee at the Edmonton Police Service.
Edmonton man Aaron Rothwell, 41, was arrested on April 7, 2017 as the result of a joint investigation by the ICE investigator at ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team) and VicPD’s ICE investigator. Rothwell, a civilian employee with the Edmonton Police Service, is charged with agreement to commit a sexual offence against a child, making child pornography, and distributing child pornography.
The investigation began in February 2017 as the result of a proactive initiative by the Victoria Police Department’s lone ICE officer. The suspect allegedly engaged in sexually explicit online conversations with our officer who was working undercover.
Once our investigator determined the suspect was based in Edmonton, our investigative information was forwarded to ICE and the suspect’s identity was learned. The suspect was taken into custody last week. Alberta investigators revealed that Rothwell worked in an administrative capacity at the Edmonton Police Service and had no contact with the public.
“This arrest is the result of great cooperation between two law enforcement agencies,” Acting Chief Del Manak said. “I’m proud of the work that our ICE officer did on this file and of the team work between ALERT’s ICE unit and our own.”
Anyone with information about this investigation, or any child exploitation offence is encouraged to contact their local police or cybertip.ca.