Case adjourned for man facing child porn charges

By Delon Shurtz on November 19, 2020.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

One of three Lethbridge men arrested earlier this year following a child pornography sting is expected to take a step in relation to his charges when they return to court next month.
The matter for Brandon Bran Equizabal was in Lethbridge provincial court Wednesday to address charges of possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography, and distributing child pornography.
Although the case was simply adjourned, an agent for the accused’s lawyer told court Equizabal, 26, would enter a plea when his matter returned to court Dec. 16.
Equizabal and the other two Lethbridge men, Bryan Alas Hernandez, 18, and Yonatan Castro Linares, 25, are among 18 suspects from Alberta who were arrested on 65 offences by ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit for offences related to online child sexual exploitation.
Most of the arrests came as the result of investigative referrals from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Co-ordination Centre, which works with internet and social media providers to track and investigate online instances of child sexual exploitation.
ICE is an integrated team that includes members of Calgary Police, Edmonton Police, Lethbridge Police, Medicine Hat Police, and RCMP. ICE investigates offences involving child pornography, computer-related child sexual abuse, child luring over the internet, voyeurism involving victims under the age of 18, and child sex trade/tourism.

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