Johannes Vermeer. Photo bcmb.org
A British Columbia man who was formerly a pastor with a church in the Fraser Valley has been charged with four counts related to child pornography.
Johannes Vermeer appeared in a Chilliwack court late last month and Cpl. Mike Rail with the RCMP's Upper Fraser Valley Regional Detachment says he is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of accessing child pornography.
Rail says the charges date back to offences alleged to have occurred in 2010 and 2015.
He says police received a report in early 2015 and charges were laid following a "very technologically based investigation conducted by Chilliwack RCMP and serious crime unit officers."
Pastor Shawn Vandop with the Main Street Church in Chilliwack says Vermeer resigned as the church's executive pastor in March and he had not worked with children in that role.
Vandop says the church contacted police in 2015 after questionable material was found on a computer.
"We were very proactive as a church," Vandop said.
"It's something that we really take seriously, so the moment we found this kind of activity was on our computer system we made the call and have been working with authorities ever since."
Vermeer is scheduled to return to provincial court in Chilliwack on April 17.
