P.E.I. man sentenced for sharing intimate image with undercover officer posing as a child
Social Sharing
Warning: This story contains details some may find disturbing.
A 24-year-old Scotchfort man has been sentenced to one year in jail and two years probation after earlier pleading guilty to luring and sending a sexually explicit image to a child.
Henry Donald Crabbe believed the person he was corresponding with on a messaging app called Kik was a 12-year-old girl — but it was actually an undercover police officer.
On Wednesday, Judge Nancy Orr sentenced Crabbe to one year in jail for each of the charges, to be served concurrently, and two years probation.
The judge said she hoped the sentence would send a message to others acting inappropriately online: "If you get caught, the consequences are extremely significant."
Crabbe will also have to undergo counselling and he can't have contact with people aged 16 and younger unless it's supervised by an adult who has been assessed and approved by his probation officer.
As well, Crabbe must provide a DNA sample and remain on the National Sexual Offender Registry for 20 years. His use of the internet is also being restricted.
In June 2024, Crabbe was using the messenger app's random chat function to contact people he didn't know. In the incident that led to the charges, he sent an unsolicited photo of his genitals to someone posing as a 12-year-old girl.
That person turned out to be an undercover police officer from the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit in the United Kingdom.
That unit sent the digital files to Canada's National Child Exploitation Crime Centre, which contacted the RCMP on P.E.I.
The IP address from which the messages had been sent was eventually connected to a home where Crabbe was staying. Police also matched his profile photo on Kik to an image from his driver's licence.
Court heard that Crabbe was active on the messaging app until two days before his arrest in November.
Crabbe had no previous record. On Wednesday, he told the court he regrets all of his actions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
15 minutes ago
- CBC
Police continue search for body of Jennifer Hillier-Penney
About 60 kilometres away from St. Anthony, on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula, the RCMP is involved in a major undertaking down a long dirt road in an area known as Northwest Arm. Officers are actively searching for the body of Jennifer Hillier-Penney, who was first reported missing on Nov. 30, 2016. A crew of about ten men are using two boats — one with remotely operated vehicles and one dragging a sonar device — to search the water near Dean Penney's cabin. Penney was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in December 2023. He's accused of murdering Hillier-Penney, his estranged wife. It's the first time police have searched the area since the ice and snow melted. The RCMP mobile unit and search teams have been set up in the remote location for the last 10 days. The search is very much dependent on wind, weather and resources. Leading down the long dirt road to the search site, faded missing person posters are plastered along the utility poles. Hillier-Penney was last seen at her estranged husband's home in St. Anthony. Dean Penney pleaded not guilty last fall, but remains in custody as he waits for a trial that is set for the entire month of April in 2026. Police have been investigating Hillier-Penney's murder since 2016, but her body has not been found. No one with the search would talk to CBC News, but the police confirmed the presence in Northwest Arm is related to an ongoing investigation. Police say they will update the media when they find something.
CTV News
36 minutes ago
- CTV News
Flight from police caught on camera, man charged with dangerous driving
A pickup truck was caught on camera by an Edmonton Police Service helicopter speeding and driving the wrong way in Stony Plain, Alta. on June 2, 2025. A pickup truck was caught on camera by an Edmonton Police Service helicopter speeding and driving the wrong way in Stony Plain, Alta. on June 2, 2025. The driver is now facing charges. Caught on camera: truck speeds on wrong side of the road in Spruce Grove A man is facing multiple charges after allegedly fleeing police from a fast food restaurant. RCMP said the man was seen leaving a Stony Plain McDonalds at a high rate of speed on June 2 in a silver Ford F250. When officers tried to pull him over, he reportedly sped away. Edmonton Police Air Services was called to help. The driver and truck were found parked in a residential area, RCMP said, but the driver sped off again when officers approached. Mounties said the man could be seen speeding, crossing medians, driving on the wrong side of the road and almost crashing into several civilian and police vehicles. Police did not follow due to the risk to the public. At about 3 a.m., officers were able to arrest the man after RCMP said the truck stalled in Spruce Grove and the man got out and tried to get into another nearby truck. Police said the man resisted arrest. He was later taken to hospital for assessment before being released back to the RCMP. The man, a Spruce Grove resident, was charged with: flight from police; dangerous operation of a motor vehicle; theft of a motor vehicle; resisting/obstructing a peace officer; and operating a vehicle while prohibited. The man was remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear at the Alberta Court of Justice in Stony Plain on June 11.
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
'All scenarios are being considered,' RCMP say, as search continues for missing N.S. siblings
Article content Mounties have also obtained search warrants 'to seize and examine materials and devices that may provide information useful to the investigation,' it said. Article content 'We're accessing, evaluating and analyzing a significant volume of information from a variety of sources. We have a very coordinated and deliberate approach to make certain all information is meticulously scrutinized, prioritized and actioned to ensure nothing is missed,' Cpl. Sandy Matharu, investigation lead with the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit, said in the release. 'We're committed to doing what is necessary to locate Lilly and Jack and advance the investigation, which may take longer than we all hoped.' Article content Daniel Robert Martell, who identifies as the children's stepfather, told The Chronicle Herald earlier last month that he and the children's mother, Malehya Brooks-Murray, last heard Jack and Lily on the morning of May 2, as they lay in bed with their baby. Article content 'The sun was already up and Lily came into the (bedroom),' said Martell. Article content 'She had a pink shirt on. We could hear Jackie in the kitchen. A few minutes later we didn't hear them so I went out to check. The sliding door was closed. Their boots were gone.' Article content Article content Martell said when they noticed the two children were missing May 2, he immediately jumped in the car and searched neighbouring roads, looking in culverts. By the time he returned home, the RCMP were there, having been called by the children's mother. Article content Martell is not Jack and Lily's father. He's been Brooks-Murray's partner for three years, though after the children disappeared she reportedly left him and the county with their baby and is staying with family. Article content Martell has said that he had been working with Northeast Nova Major Crime, had provided the RCMP with his cellphone and had agreed to take a lie detector test. Martell told CBC he passed that test, so 'you really can't point fingers at me anymore.' Article content On the weekend after they vanished, Brooks-Murray told CTV that Jack and Lilly are not typically the type of children who would go outside on their own. 'I just want to remain hopeful, but there's always in a mother's mind, you're always thinking the worst,' Brooks-Murray said at the time. Article content Article content A large scale-ground search began immediately after the children were reported missing. Hundreds of volunteers, multiple dogs, drones, an underwater recovery team and several aircraft scoured a heavily wooded 5.5-square-kilometre area before search efforts were scaled back on May 7. Article content Several additional searches have taken place since, many of them on weekends. Article content 'The terrain here in Nova Scotia is very rugged in that area,' Tremblay said. Article content On Wednesday, Mounties said the information they have gathered to this point has not identified new search areas. Article content Police want anyone with information on the whereabouts of the missing children to call the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit at 902-896-5060. To remain anonymous, contact Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers, toll-free, at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at or use the P3 Tips app. Article content
