Winnipeg man charged with sexually assaulting 6-year-old after Aussie tip

A tip from Australian authorities has resulted in numerous charges against a Winnipeg man accused of sexually assaulting a child in Winnipeg this year and sharing the images online.

Const. Jay Murray told reporters Monday that Australian investigators notified Winnipeg police on Aug. 25 of a child sexual assault imagery investigation with a link to Winnipeg.

"The arrest of a male in Australia was critical to identifying a suspect," Murray said.

Winnipeg police picked up the investigation, and learned that a six-year-old child had been sexually assaulted at a residence in East Kildonansome time between January and August of this year.

Murray said images of the assault were intercepted by investigators when the pictures were shared with various users on an online messaging app.

Police closed in on a home in East Kildonanand arrested a Winnipeg man, 28. Police seized a number of electronic devices from the home.

The suspect, who remains in custody, faces numerous charges, including possessing and publication of child pornography, sexual assault andsexual interference.

'Under-discussed issue'

Signy Arnason with the Winnipeg-based Canadian Centre for Child Protection said her agency receives 3,500 reports of child sexual abuse imagery a month from Canadians. That figure has been going up by between 10 and 15 per cent annually, she said.

"I expect that trend, obviously, to continue," she said, adding a recent report found 70 per cent ofthe 44,000 images assessed included sexual assaults against children that were recorded in homes.

"What we know is the imagery is the Achilles heel of the offender. It's the recording of that content whether it be images or videosthat ultimately works against them, because that's the evidence that the abuseoccurred.

"Traditionally we would've relied upon children disclosing the abuse and then believing it.But now we have the imagery to prove in fact that these horrific crimes do, in fact, occur against childrenday in and day out."

Arnason said she is glad police worked together to make the bust. She feels child sexual abuse imagery is still an "under-discussed issue" that needs more attention.

"The idea [of] having to overcome not only the sexual abuse, but recognizing that that abuse has been recorded and shared amongst the offending community, is an additional layer of victimizationand trauma, and can follow people into adulthood and require extensive therapeutic needs to address that."