Charges related to child sexual exploitation have been laid against a man from the Edmonton area.

RCMP in Sherwood Park said it launched an investigation in relation to child pornography offences in mid-November.

On Dec. 2, officers from the Strathcona County RCMP, with the assistance of members of the domestic violence unit, carried out a search warrant on a home in Sherwood Park and arrested the lone resident.

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Kenneth Dupe, 43, of Sherwood Park, was charged with possession of child pornography and transmitting, making available, distributing or selling child pornography.

Dupe was released under orders to obey an extensive list of conditions. He will appear in Sherwood Park court on Jan. 7, 2026.

In recent years there has been a push for child pornography to be rephrased as child sexual exploitation, which includes offences such as sextortion, child luring and the creation or distribution of sexually explicit images of a minor.

Police say child exploitation has been increasing nationally in recent years.

According to Statistics Canada, the rate of online child sexual exploitation reported to police rose by 58 per cent from 2019 to 2022, and police data show cases have continued to rise.

The RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre reported that from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, it received 118,162 reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation offences — a 15 per cent increase compared with the previous year.

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