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A man faces charges after a search by the Integrated Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit of the Criminal Investigation Division.
On May 26, Halifax Regional Police received information from a law enforcement agency in the United States that a 19-year-old Dartmouth man was sharing sexually explicit images online with a 12-year-old female youth located in Maryland. The investigation culminated on July 11 with the execution of a search warrant at an apartment in the 0-100 block of Joseph Young Street in Dartmouth. Officers arrested a man at the scene and seized computer equipment.
Nineteen-year-old Richard Malcolm Coakley is scheduled to appear in Dartmouth Provincial Court on August 12, 2014 to face charges of possession of child pornography, invitation to sexual touching and three counts of luring a child, all relating to the same victim. He was released from custody under conditions to not communicate with children under the age of 16, not to possess a device able to access the internet and not be within 50 meters of a place frequented by children.
The ICE unit is primarily responsible for the investigation of offences related to internet exploitation of children. These investigations include the making, possession, accessing and distribution of child pornography and internet luring of children. Anyone with information on these types of incidents is asked to contact police at 490-5020. Anonymous tips can be sent to Crime Stoppers by calling toll-free 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submitting a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca or texting a tip - Tip 202 + your message to 274637.