A youth sports coach with ties to Burnaby is facing numerous child pornography charges out of Coquitlam.
On Wednesday, Coquitlam RCMP announced that 59-year-old Randy Downes is facing several charges, including four counts of making child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography and four counts of voyeurism.
While all the charges relate to incidents in Coquitlam from June 2013 up to August of this year, RCMP are asking the public for help and information to further the investigation, while also reaching out to sport organizations across the Lower Mainland.
Police noted Downes coached various levels of hockey and baseball since the 1990s and has worked as a photographer for hockey, baseball and soccer.
He also spent time as a coach with the Burnaby Winter Club. According toNOW files, Downes was the coach of the club’s Atom A1 team as late as February 2013.
It’s unclear when he started coaching the club and when he left. The NOW reached out to the Burnaby Winter Club for comment but didn’t hear back before press deadline.
Coquitlam RCMP said the investigation into Downes started after receiving information from the B.C. Integrated Child Exploitation Unit on March 31, 2016. On April 27, investigators executed a search warrant at a home and seized digital evidence which police say contained images of children that meet the criteria for voyeurism and child pornography.
Police said there is no evidence to suggest Downes had any sexual contact with the children.
Coquitlam RCMP Const. Jamie Phillipson said investigators are encouraging parents and caregivers of children who have interacted with Downes to speak with their children and contact the police with any questions or concerns.
“We fully expect to get calls coming in, whether or not that’s just going to be from concerned parents that have had a bad feeling over the years, or if there is an unreported incident or incidents that have yet to be reported to police,” he told the NOW.
Anyone with information can email the investigators directly at [email protected] or by calling the Coquitlam RCMP at 604-945-1550 and quoting police file number 2016-9938
