Following a four-month long investigation by New Westminster police, Crown counsel has approved charges against an alleged child pornographer.
In March of this year, officers from New Westminster's major crimes unit began an investigation into the alleged possession of child pornography by a city resident.
The investigation continued until July 10, when police submitted a report to Crown counsel recommending criminal charges, according to a media release.
On Aug. 16, Crown counsel approved two charges against 50-year-old Steven Roth, the release added.
Roth, a New Westminster resident, has been charged with importing, distributing, selling or possessing for the purposes of distribution or sale of child pornography as well as possessing child pornography. Roth has since been released from custody on the following conditions:
He doesn't have any contact with children under the age of 16; he cannot be at any location where children under 16 may be, including parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, elementary schools and libraries;
He permits a New Westminster police officer entry into his home - if requested - to confirm that all Internet-capable devices have been removed;
He only uses the computer assigned to him by his employer, and that it only connects to the network required to complete his work;
His employer must be aware of all the terms of his bail and ensure he only uses the computer assigned to him;
His employer must allow the police to check his computer use;
He cannot have any administrative privileges on his computer; and he cannot access the Internet by any means, in any location - public or private.
Insp. Phil Eastwood said he couldn't provide any additional comments regarding the case at this time "as this matter is before the courts."
Roth's next court appearance is Aug. 28.
SEARCHING FOR STOLEN RING
New Westminster police are asking for the community's help in finding a ring that was stolen in a breakin last week.
On Aug. 15, police were called to a home on Laguna Court in Quayside. The residence was broken into, and a safe was stolen. Inside the safe there was a gold ring with a large opal - approximately 23 by 16 by eight millimetres in size - with diamonds "graduating in size on an angle down each side" of the ring, according to a media release.
Police are asking that anyone with information on the location of the ring contact the department or Const. Chuck Fortier at 604-525-5411.
POLICE INVESTIGATE REPORT OF A GUN
It was only a cellphone, but last month, the New Westminster Police Department had to be sure - after receiving a report of a man carrying a gun at the Landmark Cinemas at at at Plaza 88 on Eighth Street.
At about 7:18 p.m. on July 31, officers were dispatched to the cinema after police received a phone call from security at the cinemas saying someone had seen a man carrying a gun "in the waistband of his pants," according to Sgt. Diana McDaniel.
"An operational plan was established, which involved every available on duty patrol member, including members from the operational support team, the traffic unit and the (Lower Mainland District) emergency response team," McDaniel explained in an email to The Record.
The officers entered the theatre and located the suspect. It was quickly determined he was only carrying a cellphone - not a gun.
"His cellphone was mistaken for a gun by the witness," McDaniel said.
PUBLIC ASSAULT LEADS TO CHARGES
New Westminster police arrested a Surrey man Tuesday afternoon after a series of 911 calls alerted them of an assault happening at at on 16th Street. At about 4:20 p.m. on July 29, the police department received several calls from people reporting a man allegedly attacking a woman in the 500-block of 16th Street.
"It was on the street, I believe, where the initial incident happened, and then as the calls came in (the man) fled," Staff Sgt. Paul Hyland said.
Hyland said officers alleged the suspect attacked the victim and a witness on 16th Street with a knife before fleeing to the victim's home in the 1600-block of Sixth Ave., where he was later arrested.
"(Officers) actually evacuated some of the other surrounding suites and made attempts to call (the suspect) out, but there was no kind of response, so they called for the emergency response team members - who were on route - and then, of course, he made himself known," Hyland explained.
New Westminster's major crime unit - which took over the investigation after the suspect was brought into custody - determined the victim and the suspect were in relationship.
Allen James Klassen, 42, has been charged with forcible confinement, breaking and entering, uttering threats and two counts assault with a weapon.
