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Crime

EPS expands online reporting tool to include historic sexual assault

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8 minute read

The Edmonton Police Service has expanded its online crime reporting tool to include historic sexual assault. In instances where sexual assault has occurred more than seven days prior, victims are now able to file a report through a secure webform on edmontonpolice.ca.

Please note that the online sexual assault reporting tool is not anonymous – personal information is required to complete the form. However, it does provide the option to submit the report for information-only or investigation. Individuals will only be contacted by an officer when their report is submitted for investigation. If they submit for information-only, they will be issued a file number that they may hold on to until they are ready to proceed to investigation – that file number can then be given to EPS to update the report or proceed with investigation.

 

Sexual Assault Online Reporting Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of common questions for sexual assault online reporting. Where possible, links to other areas of interest have been provided. If you have questions while entering your report, please call the online reporting help line at 780-391-6001.

How do I know if I have been sexually assaulted?

Sexual assault is any sexual contact where consent is not given, consent is revoked, or you are unable to consent due to incapacitation.

Click here to see more information on what is sexual assault.

Click here to see more information on consent.

When can I report a sexual assault online?

You can report a sexual assault online if it meets the following criteria:

• It is not an emergency and you are not in danger.

• The incident did not occur within the last 7 days.

• You are reporting on behalf of yourself and you are 16 years or older.

• There is no evidence that may be lost if it is not collected immediately (e.g. clothing with possible DNA evidence, surveillance video, witnesses, weapons, social media messages).

• You have an email account this is secure and is not shared, so that you will not be in danger if you receive emails from the EPS.

What if the sexual assault happened outside of Edmonton? Can I file a report using this online reporting system?

If the incident you are reporting happened outside the city limits of Edmonton, should you choose to report this incident, you can report it to the police agency in the jurisdiction where the incident occurred. For example, the Edmonton International Airport falls within the jurisdiction of the RCMP.

What will happen after I make an online sexual assault report?

Once you complete your online report the following will occur:

• You will see the words: “Your online police report has been submitted”. This indicates that your report was successfully submitted.

• You will be given a temporary police report number.

• All cases filed using the Online Reporting System will be reviewed within 7 business days.

• Once processed, you will receive a permanent police report number that replaces the temporary one.

• If you are submitting this report to initiate a police investigation you will be contacted by an investigator within 10 business days.

• If you are submitting this report for information purposes only, we will not contact you.

What will happen after I make an online sexual assault report?

Once you complete your online report the following will occur:

• You will see the words: “Your online police report has been submitted”. This indicates that your report was successfully submitted.

• You will be given a temporary police report number.

• All cases filed using the Online Reporting System will be reviewed within 7 business days.

• Once processed, you will receive a permanent police report number that replaces the temporary one.

• If you are submitting this report to initiate a police investigation you will be contacted by an investigator within 10 business days.

• If you are submitting this report for information purposes only, we will not contact you.

What will happen after I make an online sexual assault report?

Once you complete your online report the following will occur:

• You will see the words: “Your online police report has been submitted”. This indicates that your report was successfully submitted.

• You will be given a temporary police report number.

• All cases filed using the Online Reporting System will be reviewed within 7 business days.

• Once processed, you will receive a permanent police report number that replaces the temporary one.

• If you are submitting this report to initiate a police investigation you will be contacted by an investigator within 10 business days.

• If you are submitting this report for information purposes only, we will not contact you.

What if the sexual assault happened a long time ago?

There is no statute of limitations on sexual assault; you can choose to report at any time.

What information do I need to include in the body of my report?

Just tell us what happened.

What can DNA evidence be used for?

DNA is a reliable form of evidence in many criminal cases. DNA evidence can be collected from blood, hair, skin cells, and other bodily substances. It can even be used to solve old crimes that occurred prior to the development of DNA testing technology.

If I change my mind after I have reported to police, do I have to continue with the investigation?

In the vast majority of cases, you will determine whether or not the investigation proceeds. In rare occurrences, when public safety is at risk (i.e. prolific sex offenders, serial murderers), the investigation must continue.

What if I previously reported a sexual assault and chose not to proceed with an investigation at that time, but I would like to proceed with a police investigation now?

Please call EPS at (780) 423-4567 (#377 from your mobile) and advise that you would like to re-open a sexual assault investigation. You will need to provide your name and file number (if you have one).

 

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Business

DOJ charges 7 Chinese spies with targeting US political leaders, major businesses

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Matt Lamb

The hackers ‘spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials’ as part of a massive Chinese espionage operation, according to the DOJ.

Hackers targeted defense contractors, American political leaders, and U.S. companies with malware as part of a surveillance operation for the Chinese Communist Party, the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges.

The DOJ released details on the indictment of seven Chinese individuals who have been charged with “conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud,” according to a Monday news release.

The individuals are part of a People’s Republic of China (PRC) group who “spent approximately 14 years targeting U.S. and foreign critics, businesses, and political officials in furtherance of the PRC’s economic espionage and foreign intelligence objectives,” according to the DOJ.

Officials unsealed the indictment on Monday, though charges were originally filed in January.

The indictment provides further insight into how the CCP targets American companies and political leaders for retribution and influence using computer viruses.

The CCP and its Ministry of State Security “sought to obtain information on political, economic and security policies that might affect the PRC, along with military, scientific and technical information of value to the PRC,” the indictment states. “Among other things, the MSS and its state security departments focused on surreptitiously identifying and influencing the foreign policy of other countries, including the United States.”

The hackers used a front company called Wuhan XRZ beginning in at least 2010. They would send fake emails to U.S. senators, business leaders, and information technology companies looking to gain access. They were successful in hacking defense contractors, information technology providers, and universities, among other victims.

The DOJ itself was targeted, along the Commerce Department, the Treasury Department, and the White House.

The Justice Department alleges:

These computer network intrusion activities resulted in the confirmed and potential compromise of work and personal email accounts, cloud storage accounts and telephone call records belonging to millions of Americans, including at least some information that could be released in support of malign influence targeting democratic processes and institutions, and economic plans, intellectual property, and trade secrets belonging to American businesses, and contributed to the estimated billions of dollars lost every year as a result of the PRC’s state-sponsored apparatus to transfer U.S. technology to the PRC.

“If the recipient activated the tracking link by opening the email, information about the recipient, including the recipient’s location, IP addresses, network schematics and specific devices used to access the pertinent email accounts, was transmitted to a server controlled by the Conspirators,” the DOJ stated. “The Conspirators used this method to enable more direct and sophisticated targeting of recipients’ home routers and other electronic devices, including those of high ranking U.S. government officials and politicians and election campaign staff from both major U.S. political parties.”

In just a few months in 2018, the hackers “sent more than 10,000 malicious email messages” to “high-ranking U.S. government officials and their advisors, including officials involved in international policy and foreign trade issues.”

They also targeted campaign staff for “a presidential campaign” in 2020. The filing does not state which campaign.

European Union and United Kingdom leaders who were part of the anti-Communist Inter Parliamentary Alliance on China were also targeted.

Other victims included: “a nuclear power engineering company,” a defense contractor, an aerospace contractor, and “a leading American manufacturer of software and computer services based in California.”

Telecommunications companies, law firms, and steel companies were also targeted.

The CCP impersonated real steel companies in order to gain access to their emails during a battle over tariffs on China. After the Trump administration announced new steel tariffs in 2018, the hackers “registered a malicious domain impersonating the legitimate domain of one of the largest steel producers in the United States (the ‘American Steel Company’)” as well as the International Steel Trade Forum.

“These malicious domains allowed the Conspirators to communicate with malware they installed on the network of the American Steel Company to access and surveil the victim,” the DOJ stated.

They also targeted the Norwegian government in 2018 because it was considering awarding the Nobel Prize to Hong Kong democracy activists.

The PRC is a “malicious nation state,” a federal prosecutor stated in the DOJ news release.

“These allegations pull back the curtain on China’s vast illegal hacking operation that targeted sensitive data from U.S. elected and government officials, journalists, and academics; valuable information from American companies; and political dissidents in America and abroad. Their sinister scheme victimized thousands of people and entities across the world, and lasted for well over a decade,”  U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York stated in the news release.

“America’s sovereignty extends to its cyberspace. Today’s charges demonstrate my office’s commitment to upholding and protecting that jurisdiction, and to putting an end to malicious nation state cyber activity.”

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Alberta

Red Deer woman arrested after drone used to deliver drugs at Drumheller Institution

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News release from Alberta RCMP 

In January of 2023, Drumheller RCMP initiated an investigation into drug trafficking following the discovery of multiple packages believed to be dropped utilizing a drone at the Drumheller Institution.  During the investigation, multiple partners and RCMP Support Units were engaged, including from the Drumheller Institution, RCMP Southern Alberta Crime Reduction Unit, Drumheller General Investigation Unit (GIS), Strathmore GIS, Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, RCMP Forensic Identification Section (FIS), RCMP Special Investigations, and more

On Dec. 1, 2023, police executed two search warrants at one residence in Calgary and one residence in Red Deer, Alta.

As a result of the search warrant, the following was seized:

  • A drone
  • Cell phones
  • Drug paraphernalia
  • A quantity of methamphetamine, GHB, Psilocybin, and MDMA

As a result of this operation, Drumheller RCMP laid a total of 5 charges.  Jessica Lavallee (35), a resident of Red Deer, has been charged with:

  • Possession of Methamphetamine for the Purpose of Trafficking
  • Possession of MDMA for the Purpose of Trafficking
  • Possession of GHB for the Purpose of Trafficking
  • Possession of Psilocybin for the Purpose of Trafficking
  • Possession of Proceeds of Crime

Jessica Lavallee was released on an undertaking and is set to appear in Alberta Court of Justice in Drumheller on May 17, 2024. 

Drumheller RCMP and partners continue to investigate this matter and additional charges are pending.

If you have any information regarding these matters, please contact Drumheller RCMP at 403.823.7590 or contact your local Police Service.  If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.

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