*Warning* the following contains graphic content.

A long-time family doctor from Sylvan Lake has been charged with child exploitation offences after a joint investigation involving ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit and the Victoria Police Department.

Dr. Fred Janke, 62, was arrested in Edmonton on Thursday and charged with making arrangements to commit sexual offences against a child, making child pornography and distribution of child pornography.

The investigation and charges are related strictly to online offences.

Speaking at a press conference in Edmonton on Friday afternoon, ALERT’s Staff Sgt. Stephen Camp said they have received no information that any children have been physically harmed or offended upon in a contact offence.

"That doesn't mean there's not more things that we're going to find once the search warrants are conducted and examinations of devices, which take a considerable amount of time, are done," Camp said.

"A lot of times, not specifically in this particular case, we'll do an arrest, a search warrant and then ultimately, hours or days or weeks or months later there's additional evidence found that would lead us to additional charges, sometimes contact offences, on children close to the person."

ICE is encouraging anyone with information on this case to come forward and contact police or cybertip.ca.

Janke had allegedly been engaged in sexually-explicit conversations with somebody he met online since October 2017. Those conversations allegedly progressed to the doctor attempting to arrange for sex with the person’s five-year-old daughter.

There was no daughter and the person Janke is alleged to have been communicating with was an undercover member of the Victoria Police Department.

The Victoria Police Department’s ICE unit had been conducting an online investigation into a website known to host online chat rooms geared towards child sex. Once they determined the suspect was based in Alberta, the information was sent to ALERT’s ICE unit.

Janke has been a practicing physician in Sylvan Lake for nearly 30 years.

Camp said the University of Alberta has been notified about the charges. There, Janke is listed as an associate professor in family medicine.

The Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons were made aware as well, and released a statement earlier Friday afternoon.

Steve Buick, a spokesperson for the college, said they reached Janke and got him to withdraw from practice immediately and indefinitely, pending the resolution of charges.

“We’re very glad we were able to get him to withdraw voluntarily immediately so that we did not have to go through the process of suspending him, which might have taken a bit longer. So he will not be returning practice at least not for the duration of the criminal proceeding,” Buick said.

The college administers the Health Professions Act, and Buick said disciplinary action is governed by the same standards of a trial court.

“We can’t just summarily suspend members without any process. At a minimum, even to use the emergency powers we have under the Health Professions Act, we would need a formal record of the charge against him and then to serve it on him by a standard process,” he said, adding that Section 65 of the Act allows the college a range of actions, including suspension of a member’s licence without a decision from a tribunal.

That action would still be subject to appeal to the Court of Queen’s Bench, he continued.

“In theory, even that process might have been defeated if a judge had granted a stay. But considering the allegation, I think it’s likely we would have been successful in removing him from practice regardless.”

Buick said Janke did not protest the college’s request.

“There was no argument. It was obvious to him as well that he cannot possibly practice with this pending.”

If Janke is convicted, Buick said that would trigger automatic discipline and the college would determine the appropriate penalty in addition to the criminal sentence.

“Even if he’s not convicted, we will still review the facts of the case and determine if we should take any action against him, even if there was no criminal sentence.”