B.C. teacher charged with sexual exploitation, luring a child

RCMP in British Columbia's Columbia Valley say a teacher in Invermere, B.C.,has been arrested and charged for inappropriatecommunication with a child.

Cpl. James Grandy says Jason Walker wascharged Tuesday with sexual exploitation, making sexually explicit material available to a child and luring a child following an investigation into ateacher at David Thompson Secondary.

"The offences took place over the internet, specifically social media," Grandy said in a written release. "As such, investigators believe it may be possible other individuals are aware of these offences."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Columbia Valley RCMP at250-342-9292.

Police say Walker was arrested and "placed on a number of conditions." He is scheduled to appear in court on March 4.

Invermereis about 520 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, near the B.C.-Alberta border, with a population of roughly 3,900. David Thompson is the only public high school in the community.

Online exploitation in provincial crosshairs

Online exploitation of children has been the target of several recent announcements and initiatives from the provincial government.

Premier David Eby announced last month a series of measures to help protect children, which include moves to limit to use of cellphones in classrooms, the launch of a service to remove intimate images from the internet and "pursue predators," and plans to introduce legislation holding social media companies accountable for harms they have caused.

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