Crime
Banff RCMP seek return of special artifact
Banff National Park, Alberta – The RCMP are seeking public assistance in the return of an artifact that was removed on July 28 from a historical site at Lower Bankhead near Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park.
At 2:30 p.m., Banff RCMP received a report that an artifact was taken. The artifact is described as a 1900’s era coal miners lamp (attached photo is an exact replica). The Wolf Flame Safety Lamp was placed on the ground near the lamp house, as part of a Parks Canada interactive guided walk. The story of the people of Bankhead is part of Banff’s rich cultural history and the missing lamp was on loan from the great-granddaughter of a miner.
“The value in this lamp is not monetary, rather it is sentimental and historical” says Sergeant Philip Viers of the Banff RCMP Detachment. “We are making a public plea and ask that whoever removed this lamp do the right thing by returning it to any RCMP Detachment.”
If you have any information regarding this artifact please contact the Banff RCMP at 403-763-6600. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), by internet at www.tipsubmit.com,
Paul Bernardo sits in the back of a police cruiser as he leaves a hearing in St. Catharines, Ont., April 5, 1994. The federal public safety minister says reports of teen killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo being transferred to a medium-security prison are “shocking and incomprehensible.” THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
The federal public safety minister says reports of teen killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo being transferred to a medium-security prison are “shocking and incomprehensible.”
Citing prison union officials and the lawyer for the victims’ families, multiple media outlets say Bernardo was quietly transferred earlier this week to the medium-security La Macaza Institution, about 190 kilometres northwest of Montreal.
He was initially incarcerated at the Kingston Penitentiary in Ontario and later spent about a decade at the Millhaven Institution, a maximum security prison just outside Kingston.
Bernardo has been serving a life sentence for kidnapping, torturing and killing 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says he expects the Correctional Service of Canada to take a victim-centred and trauma-informed approach in such cases, and that he plans to address the decision process for the reported transfer with the agency’s commissioner.
The Canadian Press has reached out to the Correctional Service of Canada for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.
Calgary police say a father and his son have been arrested and charged after multiple teenage girls were sexually exploited, assaulted and extorted for several months. A Calgary Police Service officer is seen in Calgary on April 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Calgary
Calgary police say a father and his son have been arrested and charged after multiple teenage girls were sexually exploited, assaulted and extorted for several months.
Police say in a statement that they found a 13-year-old girl in April who had previously been reported missing.
They say the girl told police she was in a relationship with a 24-year-old man who gave her alcohol, drugs and vapes in exchange for sex.
Police say the man and his 56-year-old father own Haddon Convenience Store, which is located next door to a liquor store where the assaults allegedly took place.
Police allege the pair was providing drugs and alcohol to multiple other teenage girls, who were also sexually assaulted, from December to May.
They say the girls were unable to consent, because they were not 16.
Police arrested both men Thursday and executed search warrants at a home and the two businesses, where they say officers seized a computer with child pornography.
Sumrit Walia, 24, faces about 20 charges — including sexual interference with a minor, sexual exploitation as well as possessing, accessing and creating child pornography.
His 56-year-old father, Gurpartap Singh Walia, is also charged with sexual assault, sexual interference with a minor and selling contraband tobacco.
“These are incredibly serious charges, where vulnerable youths were being targeted, exploited and forced to enter a dangerous lifestyle,” said Staff Sgt. Darren Smith of the child abuse unit.
“Thankfully, with the support of Alberta Health Services, Alberta Gaming Liquor and Cannabis Commission, and the City of Calgary, we have been able to stop the continued exploitation of these young girls.”
The girls, he said, are being supported by Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre. It provides support for children, youth and families who have been affected by severe and complex abuse.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.
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