A Surrey man has been sentenced to 18-month house arrest in connection with child exploitation offences.

Joel Andy Daigle, 38, has been convicted of importing/ distributing child pornography and possession of child pornography.

含羞草研究社淒aigle also received a 20-year order pertaining to the Sex Offender Information Registration Act and must abide by multiple conditions, including those governing,含羞草研究社� reads a BC RCMP news release Wednesday (April. 3).

The offences occurred between 2016 and 2018, according to court services online.

In April 2019, police executed a search warrant at Daigle含羞草研究社檚 residence. Following an extensive investigation, he was charged in April 2020 with child exploitation offences.

Daigle含羞草研究社檚 case is part of a larger investigation with US law enforcement.

含羞草研究社淭his conviction is a result of a lengthy inter-agency investigation, in which a local suspect surfaced in a joint US law enforcement investigation that identified multiple online predators trading and possessing child sexual exploitation materials within a social chat application,含羞草研究社� Staff Sgt. Natalie Davis of BC ICE stated in a news release.

In November 2018, the British Columbia Integrated Child Exploitation (BC ICE) Unit received information from the National Child Exploitation Crime Centre (NCECC) by the Boone Police Department and U. S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A detective from the Boone Police Department 含羞草研究社渋nfiltrated含羞草研究社� a private group on a messaging application. Police say the group was dedicated to 含羞草研究社渢he sexual exploitation of children and the trafficking of child pornography.含羞草研究社�

The detective pretended to be a 14-year-old girl and convinced a group administrator to add him.

含羞草研究社淥ver the next several months, The State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), HSI, and the Boone Police Department detective worked to identify additional members of the group and created new investigations nationally and internationally,含羞草研究社� reads the BC RCMP release.

In total, 38 leads were sent to different law enforcement agencies across the globe. To date, 23 offenders, including Daigle, have been arrested. In addition, eight children were rescued from sexually abusive situations.

The administrator of the private messaging group, Dustin Davis Haynes, 34, pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography in a North Carolina courtroom on Sept 2, 2020. Haynes was sentenced to 65 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.