Two Edmonton-area educators have been arrested for child pornography-related offences, according to the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams.
Katz Dawson, 36, is charged with accessing and possessing child pornography. He was a teacher at Lillian Osborne High School in southwest Edmonton. Students at the school told Global News Dawson was a foods teacher.
Allan Nelson, 32, is also charged with possessing and accessing child pornography. He taught music lessons out of a home business. He offered music lessons at Fiddle & Fugue, according to ALERT.
The two men shared a home, which was searched by police on September 11.
ALERT told Global News the investigation started because of a tip from the RCMP’s National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.
The tip was related to a suspect sharing child sexual abuse materials online through the social media messaging app Kik.
Edmonton Public Schools said in a statement,”We are cooperating with police as they investigate. The teacher is not working in any division schools or buildings.”
“The safety and well-being of students is at the core of our commitment as a school division; it is a responsibility we take extremely seriously.”
Both men have been released on a number of court-imposed conditions, including not having any contact with anyone under the age of 16.
If you have any information about the investigation, you are encouraged to reach out to police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.