Victoria police joined with the B.C. RCMP Integrated Child Exploitation Unit in a case that has resulted in a man being convicted for charges related to images of child sexual abuse.
Christopher Thomas Smith, a 39-year-old Coquitlam man, was arrested on Oct. 30, 2019, after a joint online investigation with Victoria police that began in June 2018.
Smith was convicted this week and sentenced to 13 months for making or publishing child pornography, distributing child pornography and possession of child pornography. He has also been sentenced to three years of probation that includes several conditions, including the restriction of access to children under the age of 16.
“This conviction is a result of a lengthy inter-agency investigation in which specialized ICE investigators identified a possible online predator communicating with someone … they believed had a five-year-old daughter, and made arrangements to meet them and their child for a sexual purpose,” said Cpl. Adelle Brown of the child exploitation unit.
The unit’s Const. Solane Pare said the investigation originated with proactive online work by Victoria police, and was handed over to B.C. ICE after it was determined that the suspect was in the Lower Mainland.
Pare said the investigation is a great example of how different police agencies can work together “towards identifying and rescuing child victims of sexual abuse, identifying those responsible for the abuse and supporting the prosecution of those offenders.”
Anyone with information about suspected child exploitation is asked to contact local police. Anonymous reports can be made at cybertip.ca.
