The Canadian Armed Forces say they are investigating social media comments by one of their members who expressed support for “Minor Attracted Persons,” also known as pedophiles, The Epoch Times has learned.
“We are aware of the allegations and are investigating,” said Commander of the Navy Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee in an email on June 6.
Topshee was responding to an email from Alberta-based lawyer Catherine Christensen, who provided the Navy commander and Chief of Defence Staff Wayne Eyre with multiple screenshots from posts made on Instagram by a sailor in the context of “Pride Month.” The Epoch Times has independently viewed the email and related screenshots.
“Pride is for everyone and every sexuality is valid and every experience is valid,” wrote the CAF member with the rank of Master Sailor. “MAP [Minor Attracted Person] rights are human rights, and the MAP is a legitimate part of the queer community and culture.”
Christensen told the CAF senior brass she is “absolutely disgusted and disturbed” by the comments.
National Defence spokesperson Jessica Lamirande told The Epoch Times in an email that the CAF member’s comments were “harmful and inappropriate conduct” and “completely incompatible with the values and culture of the Royal Canadian Navy.” Lamirande said there will be a “fair and unbiased” investigation into the comments.
‘8 March Principles’
On Instagram, the pro-MAP sailor also cited a recent independent report by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), called the “8 March Principles for a Human Rights-Based Approach to Criminal Law Proscribing Conduct Associated with Sex, Reproduction, Drug Use, HIV, Homelessness and Poverty.”The document contains a section that says, “Sexual conduct involving persons below the domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex may be consensual in fact, if not in law. In this context, the enforcement of criminal law should reflect the rights and capacity of persons under 18 years of age to make decisions about engaging in consensual sexual conduct and their right to be heard in matters concerning them.”
In an April 20 statement, the ICJ said the statement from the report had been “seriously misrepresented,” and that the 8 March Principles don’t “call for the decriminalization of sex with children, nor do they call for the abolition of a domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex.” The ICJ said the report referred to sexual relations between adolescents, not sexual relations between adults and children.
When asked to clarify the comments by another Instagram user, the sailor said: “People can’t choose who they are attracted to and if the adult approaches the child and the child says yes, then they’re both consenting.”
The sailor also recommended the book “A Long, Dark Shadow‘ by Allyn Walker, which purports to challenge ”widespread assumptions that persons who are preferentially attracted to minors—often referred to as ’pedophiles’—are necessarily also predators and sex offenders.”
The sailor appears to have now deleted the Instagram profile where the comments were posted.
In an Instagram voice note seemingly made by the sailor and obtained by The Epoch Times, the sailor said that the pro-MAP comments were in fact made to help the group Safe from Online Sex Abuse (SOSA) set a trap to catch pedophiles. SOSA is a non-profit organization that raises awareness about and combats online child sex abuse and exploitation.
The Epoch Times could not verify the authenticity of the voice notes and SOSA told The Epoch Times it has “never entered into any kind of partnership or relationship with [the sailor] nor have we had any communication with her, and we do not support her views.”
“Children cannot consent to sex with adults ... our organization does not endorse [the sailor] or her actions in any way.”
An email was sent to the sailor’s CAF email account based on the first and last name nomenclature but no response was received by publication time.
