There have been numerous comments and concerns with regards to charges being laid against those who distributed a disrespectful decal alleged to depict a climate change activist.
The General Investigative Section (GIS) with the Red Deer RCMP concluded there were insufficient grounds to pursue charges. Due to the level of public concern, GIS took the additional step of seeking advice from the subject matter experts within the Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) under the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team. Following a review ICE also concluded there was insufficient grounds to pursue charges.
There are clear criteria that must be met for an image to be classified as child pornography. The criteria are set out in the Criminal Code of Canada. The image on the decal does not meet the threshold for criminal charges.
The Alberta RCMP take the exploitation of children very seriously, and we believe the image in circulation is extremely disrespectful. However, in this case and at this time there are insufficient grounds with which to pursue charges.
We will not be commenting further on this incident.