St. Paul RCMP officer denied bail on child exploitation charges

A St. Paul officer facing multiple child exploitation charges has been denied release following a bail hearing on July 9. Constable Evan Peacock, 33, remains in custody as the legal proceedings continue.  

The case began in November 2023 when the Alberta Law Enforcement Teams’ (ALERT) Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit started investigating a suspect for allegedly uploading two videos depicting child sexual exploitation to Snapchat. The RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre alerted ALERT, leading to a thorough investigation.  

By late April 2024, ALERT had identified the suspect as Constable Evan Peacock, a St. Paul RCMP detachment member. On April 24, ICE investigators arrested Peacock, charging him with two counts each of possessing, distributing, and accessing child pornography. He was released under court-ordered conditions and suspended with pay. A media release from ALERT stated that Peacock was scheduled to appear in court on May 23 in St. Paul.  

However, further complications arose in June 2024 when the Alberta RCMP’s Eastern Alberta District General Investigation Section probed an incident involving an adult male soliciting sex with underage females online. This investigation resulted in additional charges for Peacock, including child luring and failure to comply with release order conditions related to his previous charges. Consequently, Peacock was remanded into custody.  

With bail denied on July 9, Peacock is slated to return to court on July 25, where the case will continue to unfold.