MOOSE JAW — Constables Alanna Coghill and Kalie Siedlitz have been investigating online child sexual exploitation cases for only eight months but have nearly 20 active files open, with more coming in regularly.
“I just started in the unit in June … and it’s been an eye-opener,” Coghill said during a recent presentation to the Board of Police Commissioners about the Moose Jaw Police Service’s (MJPS) internet child exploitation (ICE) unit.
The duo has 16 active cases involving child sexual exploitation materials, while investigations into just one case usually take 113 to 160 days to conclude, she continued.
One reason is that they must travel to Regina to review every picture on a device — one recently seized device has 500,000 images — which usually takes hours and days to finish.
In 2024, the MJPS’s ICE Unit handled 29 files, which resulted in the execution of three search warrants at residences, the identification of five victims and charges laid against two people, Coghill’s presentation showed.
Meanwhile, in Saskatchewan, the number of ICE files has been increasing during the past seven years:
- 2017: 307
- 2018: 357
- 2019: 528
- 2020: 737
- 2021: 853
- 2022: 931
- 2023: 1,029
From these files, provincial police executed 217 search warrants and/or issued production orders to internet service providers for information, charged 58 people, and gave 41 presentations to various groups.
There was a big jump in provincial ICE files during the coronavirus pandemic and it just hasn’t stopped since then, said Coghill. The people who engage in this activity “are very tech savvy,” but it only takes one slip-up for police to jump on their trail.
For example, the MJPS’s ICE team recently investigated a man at 15 Wing Air Base who used a virtual private network (VPN) on his computer to hide his location and to suggest he was in Vancouver. However, his actual location — Moose Jaw — became known when his VPN was turned off for two minutes before coming back on.
While investigating the man, Coghill received five more files that included the suspect’s actual name, the aliases he was using and different birth dates, all coming from his actual internet protocol (IP) address.
“So now I had to start a whole other investigation on that IP address … ,” she said, noting that she also had to send more production orders to the internet service provider to hand over information about the man.
What the investigators have learned, though, is that service providers like Shaw and SaskTel want 30 days before they will give anything.
Meanwhile, during the 15 Wing investigation, officers were unable to determine on-site whether the accused had child sexual exploitation materials on his devices while he refused to give his smartphone password. So, the unit seized everything and took them to Regina for further review before eventually laying charges.
“… obviously we are looking at children who don’t have a voice most of the time in any of what’s going on, and that’s who we’re trying to protect,” Coghill continued. “(But) it doesn’t matter what type of investigation it is; those providers are not just going to provide you with information. They’re only going to do it if the court says they have to.
“So it unfortunately prolongs our investigations, and it quite often is the most extensive part … which is usually the most frustrating.”
The hurdles the ICE unit faces include limited time to investigate files, limited access to specialized software, staying current with modern investigative techniques and suspects moving to other jurisdictions, said Coghill. Ongoing training usually involves talking with peers, while advanced training requires the software.
Some solutions to these issues include hiring a full-time ICE unit investigator and joining the provincial team, she added.
Deputy Chief Rick Johns told the board that this unit’s work — looking at graphic images — takes a heavy mental toll on officers, which is why new members usually join every couple of years. Meanwhile, the agency is providing psychological help to those officers who request it.
The next police board meeting is Wednesday, Feb. 19.
