(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)
May 08, 2017 - 10:44 AM
KAMLOOPS - Former Barriere fire chief and local newspaper publisher Al Kirkwood has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.
Kirkwood made a brief appearance in Kamloops Provincial Court today, May 8 where he entered his plea. He did not plead guilty to a second charge of importing and distributing child pornography.
According to court documents, a psychological report has been ordered and his next court appearance is set for July 24.
The circumstances of the offence were not made public in court.
The allegations against Kirkwood, who's in his 60s, came to light after an RCMP investigation. Police originally said in November 2016 that the B.C. RCMP's Integrated Child Exploitation unit began an investigation in August after the United States National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, along with its Canadian counterpart, had turned over several "concerning reports."
He was arrested in Barriere on Oct. 8 and formally charged Nov. 4. RCMP executed four search warrants on Oct. 4 in the Barriere and Clearwater areas.
Police said they did not find any evidence to suggest any local children were directly victimized.
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