CHARGES have been laid in an investigation conducted by the Surrey RCMP Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit.

In November 2021, the Surrey RCMP’s ICE commenced an investigation after a notification from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. It was believed that two Facebook accounts were sharing explicit content, and one account was believed to be a youth.

Through the investigation, two young teenage girl victims were identified from Surrey and West Shore. The alleged offences occurred between July 2020 and February 2022. The investigation involved communications through many online platforms including Facebook and Snapchat, and the alleged suspect commonly used the screen name “Tanner boy.”

On April 17, 2023, an arrest warrant was issued for 30-year-old Tanner Adam Duffy of Surrey and he was arrested the same day.

Duffy has been charged with:

• Four counts of luring a child under 16;
• Three counts of possessing child pornography;
• One count each of: sexual interference, sexual assault, assault, forcible confinement and making sexually explicit material available to a child under 16.

On April 18, 2023, Duffy was released by the courts on conditions, which include:

• Reporting to a bail supervisor;
• Not go to any public park, public swimming area, community centre or theatre where persons under the age of 16 years are present or can reasonably be expected to be present;
• Not have any contact or communication, directly or indirectly, or be alone in the presence of, any person under the age of 16 years; and
• Not to access any computer network including the internet.

“Surrey RCMP’s Internet Child Exploitation is a team of specially trained investigators whose primary goal is to protect children and youth from harm, and prevent further victimization,” said Cpl. Corporal Vanessa Munn, Surrey RCMP Media Relations Officer. “Investigators work closely with partners such as the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, and also participates in programs like Project Arachnid, which issues takedown notices to electronic service providers to remove child sexual exploitation images from the internet.”

We encourage parents to have open and ongoing communication with their children about how to stay safe while online, as well as to monitor online activity. Online safety resources are available through cybertip.ca.