Manitoba RCMP Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit are reporting that David Thomas Pearson of Winnipeg, was recently sentenced to 14 years in prison, after pleading guilty to seven charges, including five counts of child luring, possessing child pornography and failing to comply with a prohibition order.
The investigation, led by the ICE unit, began in 2019, when RCMP were notified that David Pearson had violated his parole by possessing a smartphone. The phone was analyzed and revealed that David Pearson had been luring young people.
Police say that David Pearson posed as a teenage male, communicated online with girls from the U.S. and Canada, and requested that they send nude images and videos of themselves. The girls ranged in age from 11- 15-years-old.
RCMP report that on January 1, 2020, David Pearson was arrested and charged with numerous offences including, possessing child pornography, failing to comply with a probation order, making sexually explicit material available to a minor and child luring. Pearson also received a lifetime prohibition order preventing him from having contact with persons under the age of 16 as well accessing the internet or computers.
Constable Gord Olson, from the Manitoba RCMP ICE Unit, stated that the unit is committed to combatting online exploitation of children and working extremely hard to ensure the people arrested are held accountable for their actions.
