Technology

Okotoks man charged after thousands of child sexual exploitation photos found

2026-06-03 22:52
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Okotoks man charged after thousands of child sexual exploitation photos found

A 35-year-old Alberta man is facing charges after the disturbing discovery of thousands of child sexual exploitation photos and videos late last month, police say.

Alberta’s ALERT and the Internet Child Exploitation unit have charged an Okotoks man after a disturbing discovery of thousands of child sexual exploitation photos and videos late last month.

Police say they raided the home of 35-year-old Corey Airhart on May 26, finding a collection of more than 500,000 photos and videos on several hard drives and computers.

ICE says it’s one of the largest collections of sexual exploitation photos and videos the group has ever found.

In the past year, not including this seizure, ICE identified 622,150 photos and videos containing child sexual exploitation provincewide.

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“Behind every one of the photos and videos is a real child somewhere in this world that is being exploited for a sexual purpose,” said ICE Staff Sgt. Gordon MacDonald. “A collection of this size is deeply disturbing, as it would have also likely been used to trade and fuel demand.”

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ICE says its investigation began in January 2026 after another law enforcement agency became aware of information about a suspect uploading child sexual exploitation materials.

Airhart was charged with possessing and accessing child sexual abuse materials.

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He has since been released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Okotoks on Aug. 8.

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