By Charles Lefebvre

Man pleads guilty to child pornography and weapon charges

Nov 29, 2017 | 10:23 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — A 32-year-old Medicine Hat man has entered guilty pleas in connection with child pornography and weapon seizure this summer.

Tyler Falkeisen, 32, appearing in person at Medicine Hat provincial court Wednesday morning, where he pleaded guilty to charges of accessing child pornography, possessing child pornography and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

His remaining charges were withdrawn.

Falkeisen was arrested on July 13 following an investigation by the Internet Child Exploitation unit, a division of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team. ALERT received a tip in April from the United States National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a user in Medicine Hat uploading child pornography.

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Sgt. Kirt Murray, a member of the Southern Alberta Division of the ICE Unit, says the investigation resulted in approximately 6,000 images of child pornography and more than 100 videos seized from several electronic devices.

“In this region, that’s probably one of the top 10 this year for the Southern Alberta team,” he said.

Police also seizing a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun during the arrest.

Murray says the ICE unit is becoming more proactive in targeting child pornography.

“If you’re on the Internet and distributing and trading these kinds of images, they will get flagged and they will get investigated,” he said. “And if you are a repeat offender, you will get bumped to the top of the list, and we will be proactive in targeting you.”

Falkeisen was not in contact with any children and was not in a position of authority with any minors, according to the news release following his arrest.

A risk assessment and a pre-sentencing report have been ordered.

Falkeisen is scheduled to be sentenced on March 7, 2018 in Medicine Hat.