Whati man arrested and charged with possessing, making child pornography available

An RCMP patrol vehicle. (CKLB file photo.)

RCMP say they have charged a man who once worked in the Tlicho community of Whati with possession of and making child pornography available.

Police state in a news release that the arrest came as a result of a proactive investigation initiated by the NT RCMP Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE).

The NT RCMP ICE Unit is a newly established unit, comprised of two RCMP members who conduct investigations focusing on crimes involving child exploitation and/or abuse on the Internet.

Charged is Mario Laplante, 62.

He has been released under strict conditions, including having to live at his residence in Ontario.

Laplante is to appear in court on January 14 of next year.

RMCP say a publication ban is in place which prohibits them from releasing any further details about the case.

The NT ICE Unit encourages anybody interested in learning about important topics such as online child exploitation, cyberbullying and internet safety to visit Cybertip.ca and ProtectKidsOnline.ca.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

John McFadden
John has been in the broadcast journalism industry since the 1980s. He has been a reporter in Yellowknife since 2012 and joined CKLB in January of 2018. John covers the crime and court beat as well as reporting on other areas including politics, business, entertainment and sports. He won seven national community newspaper awards while he was a journalist with Northern News Services Limited (NNSL). John worked in Ontario before coming North including stints as a TV sportscaster in Peterborough and senior news writer for CBC and CTV in downtown Toronto.