Editor’s note: The following story deals with disturbing material.
A Yellowknife man has been sentenced to five years behind bars for possession of child pornography and blackmailing a 15-year-old girl.
In Yellowknife Supreme Court on Nov. 6, 20-year-old Chase Straker pleaded guilty to transmitting child pornography, possession of child pornography and extortion between Sept 2021 and April 2022.
“In April 2022 the NT (Internet Child Exploitation) Unit with the assistance of Yellowknife detachment executed a search warrant at Straker’s residence, which later resulted in the discovery of child sex abuse material on two of his seized cellphones,” said NT RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Matt Halstead on Thursday. “ICE also located sexualized chats between Straker and youths under the age of 18. One of the youths, a 15-year-old female from the USA, was coerced into sending sexual images and videos which were then used against her in attempt to extort her for more of the material. Straker threatened to distribute the images and videos which included threatening to send them to the youth’s mother.
“The child sexual abuse material and chats on Straker’s phones were located through forensic examination and analysis. The CSAM (child sexual abuse) material contained images and videos of prepubescent children and pubescent teens. These types of investigations are often complex and lengthy spanning several months or years which require investigation by experienced police officers within the Internet Child Exploitation Unit. With the assistance of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P), victim and community impact statements were read during the sentencing on Nov 6th.”
In addition to his five-year sentence, Straker is barred from being alone or communicating with anyone under 16 years of age, from working or volunteering in any type of position that would put him in contact with individuals younger than 16, from visiting playgrounds or parks where people under 16 would be present and from having a social media profile, except for work purposes. These restrictions will be in force for 10 years. On top of this, he will be placed on the sex offender registry for 20 years upon his release from prison.
“The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a national charity dedicated to the personal safety of all children,” said Halstead. “In addition to several other services, they have created support services for victims of online exploitation. C3P has learned through operating Cybertip.ca and other initiatives, that child sexual abuse material not only directly impacts survivors, it also dramatically alters their parents’ family’s lives. The link between the production, accessing, possession and transmitting of child sexual abuse material and the harm to children is never ending. Survivors of CSAM live with ongoing trauma for the rest of their lives, as they are continuously re-victimized every time another offender accesses, possesses and transmits the material after its production. They often live their lives in constant fear of offenders who have seen the CSAM, recognizing them, attempting to contact them, and in some cases, people stalking them or their families.
“Please visit www.protectchildren.ca to learn more about how to get involved in helping to support the important work C3P does as well to educate and advance your awareness and knowledge around the issue of child sexual abuse and online exploitation to help protect children,” the news release concludes.