How Could You? Hall of Shame-Daniel Quiring Stoesz/Canada UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Alberta, Canada, Foster Parent and Foster Care Supervisor Daniel Quiring Stoesz, 62, is facing criminal charges in connection to possessing and distributing child pornography.

“The province’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) team was tipped off by the FBI in Connecticut. They had flagged online distribution of child pornography that seemed to be coming from a home in Lac La Biche, about 230 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

ICE and Lac La Biche RCMP officers searched a home Thursday and seized computer equipment and electronic storage devices. An arrest was made by Bonnyville RCMP.

Daniel Quiring Stoesz, 62, appeared Friday in Lac La Biche court and was remanded. He is expected to appear in court again Monday.

A further search of the suspect’s workplace at Alberta’s Ministry of Human Services in Lac La Biche led to police seizing more computer equipment on Thursday.

An FBI spokesman would not comment on the organization’s involvement in the case, since it is now in the hands of Canadian authorities. ICE was tipped off in August, said Sgt. Mike Lokken, who declined to describe the nature of the FBI tip.

“These investigations take time,” Lokken said. “There are certain processes, investigative process and different things we have to do to do things properly.”

Forensic technicians will examine “every nook and cranny” of the seized equipment, Lokken said. But there’s nothing at this point to indicate Stoesz was manufacturing child pornography.

An Alberta Human Services spokeswoman, Kathy Telfer, said Friday that Stoesz had worked for regional foster services in St. Paul for more than 10 years. Stoesz is also a foster parent himself.
Telfer said the foster children formerly in his care are safe and with a responsible adult.

Alberta Foster Parent Association executive director Katherine Jones said the charges were shocking.

“All we can do is wait and let the police do their job,” she said. “This isn’t something that should ever happen. . . . It just puts a real cloud over everybody when these things come out in the media.”

Foster parent facing child porn charges
[Edmonton Journal 12/3/11 by Trish Audette and Brent Wittmeier]

Update: “Bail has been granted to a foster care supervisor in northern Alberta who has been charged with possessing and distributing child pornography.

Daniel Quiring Stoesz was released from custody Monday following a brief court appearance in Lac La Biche, where he lives.

The 62-year-old foster parent and employee of the province’s Ministry of Human Services faces several strict conditions on his release and will return to court Jan. 23. [It would be nice if those restrictions were disclosed. We hope that he is not allowed to interact with his foster children.]

Stoesz was arrested last week after an investigation by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team’s Internet Child Exploitation unit.

The team has said it received information from the FBI in Connecticut about the possible distribution of child pornography over the Internet from a home in Lac La Biche.

A computer and electronic storage devices were seized from the residence last Thursday, while a separate search of Stoesz’s place of employment led to the seizure of a second computer and additional storage units. ”

Strict bail conditions placed on Alberta foster parent facing child porn charges
[The Canadian Press 12/6/11]

Update 2: “A former Lac La Biche foster parent and foster-care supervisor was sentenced to six months in jail Wednesday after he was convicted of possessing child pornography.

Daniel Quiring Stoesz, 63, pleaded guilty to the charge in a St. Paul courtroom. A second charge of distribution of child pornography was withdrawn.

At the time of his arrest in December 2011, Stoesz worked for Alberta’s Ministry of Human Services in a middle-management position in which he supervised support workers who then dealt directly with foster parents. He had worked for regional foster services in St. Paul for more than 10 years.

Shortly after charges were laid, Stoesz was suspended with pay for the duration of his legal proceedings. He is no longer with the ministry.

Stoesz was also a foster parent. The children formerly in his care were taken to another home.

After his six-month jail sentence, Stoesz will be on probation for two years. He must also be included on the national sex-offender registry for a decade.

Until Wednesday, Stoesz had been on bail with strict conditions. He could not have a computer or any other Internet-access device in his home and was barred from access to the Internet. Stoesz could not contact his family members or anyone under 18 years old.

He was caught after the province’s Internet Child Exploitation team was tipped off by the FBI in Connecticut. They had flagged online child pornography in that state and the investigation led to Lac La Biche, about 230 kilometres north of Edmonton.

Investigators then seized computers from Stoesz’s work and home.

In December, Human Services Minister Dave Hancock called charges against someone so “respected in the community” a shock for “the department and to foster parents.”

 

Former foster-care worker convicted of child porn possession

[Edmonton Jourmal 6/20/12 by Ryan Cormier]

 

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