An Edmonton pediatrician has been charged with child pornography offences and ordered not to have contact with anyone under the age of 16, following an investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT).
Ghassan Al-Naami, 47, was arrested Sunday at the Edmonton International Airport.
He has been charged with possession and transmission of child pornography, ALERT said in a news release.
Al-Naami has been released from custody on court-ordered release conditions, including that he not have contact with anyone under age 16 and that he “not continue employment that involves being in a position of trust or authority towards persons under the age of 16,” ALERT said.
The charges stem from an April 2019 incident involving child pornography being allegedly uploaded to the internet.
ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit was notified about the images by the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre in July.
There is no indication that any offences were committed against children in Al-Naami’s care, the news release said.
ICE is continuing to conduct a forensic analysis of computers and electronic devices seized from Al-Naami, and is encouraging anyone with information to come forward.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta has been advised, ALERT said.
Spokespersons from the ICE unit and the college will provide more details at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
Al-Naami is listed on the University of Alberta’s website as a clinical lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.
He practised as a pediatrician in Fort McMurray from 2012 until early 2017, when he expressed concerns about the lack of a full-time emergency room pediatrician in the city. As one of Fort McMurray’s four pediatricians, Al-Naami would be on-call for emergencies for one week each month.
He is also listed as the only physician staff member at the Bright Futures Clinic at 113th Avenue and 95th Street in Edmonton.