Four men from Medicine Hat, including a senior citizen, are facing child pornography charges related to recent online activity.

The ALERT Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit says the four arrests happened last week, between Tuesday (May 12) and Thursday (May 14). It says there’s no link between the suspects, and none of them work in professions of trust or authority.

A total of 43 computers and devices were seized in the investigation, which ALERT says will undergo a full forensic analysis.

Thomas Bindr, 27, Blaine Vadnais, 78, Jeremy Unruh, 43, and Owen Michael Monteith, 34, are all charged with at least one child pornography offence.

ALERT CEO Dwayne Lakusta says the ICE unit has been “inundated with cases involving online child exploitation during COVID-19”, and he’s urging parents to implement safe internet practices to protect their children.