This man posted photos of his 'daughter' online for years. Her real family is horrified
Calgary police lay fraud and weapons charges, say more could be coming
WARNING: This story includes disturbing content.
A Calgary mom and dad are reeling after discovering a stranger has been taking photos of their young daughter from the family's social media accounts and, police say, using them to convince others he's a single father who is struggling financially.
Brian Keith Strachan, also from Calgary, has been taking the girl's photos for about eight years and posting them on his own social media accounts, claiming he's been raising her since she was born. The girl is now eight years old.
He even gave her a fake name — Amanda.
Someone tipped the family off after seeing the girl's photo online last week.
CBC News is not using the family's last names to protect the girl's identity.
"I'm just in shock and sickened that this guy has this stuff.… I was just in disbelief," the girl's dad, Kenny, said in an exclusive interview.
"It's sickening, gut-wrenching," said her mom, Tamara. "I just didn't really know what to do. It was like we didn't ever want our daughter to leave our side."
The family provided CBC News with dozens of the images from Strachan's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, which have now been either locked down or deleted.
They show the girl from when she was a toddler up until just a few days ago.
In one, the girl is about two and wearing a Wonder Woman costume.
Strachan's post, supposedly in the young girl's voice, reads: "If I grow up to be half the person you are Dad, then I will consider my life a success."
In another, she's wearing a graduation hat and gown after finishing kindergarten.
That post says: "If I can teach my 8-year-old daughter Amanda to make money, I CAN AND WILL TEACH YOU." It's not clear what exactly Strachan is proposing to teach.
On Facebook, Strachan says he's "single, never been married and [has] no biological kids." He says he became the girl's guardian after "she was born to a 14-year-old girl who made a mistake in life."
He says he stepped in to raise "Amanda" so her mother could stay in school.
There are also a number of posts where he describes the financial hardships of being a single father.
CBC News also learned Strachan would take part in fundraisers for abuse victims, telling participants and organizers about his young daughter and how they needed money for gas, groceries and more.
"He'd show us [pictures of the girl] on his phone, and of course, all over Facebook. That's what's really jaw-dropping about all this.… It just left us speechless," said John Graham, the president of one of those organizations, Against All Abuse.
The girl's family was further alarmed upon learning of more than a dozen posts on a chat website — by a man calling himself Brian Strachan — where he describes in disturbing detail disrobing and applying a diaper to his supposed daughter.
It's an unusual situation, said acting Staff Sgt. Shelby Stewart, a lead investigator in the case with the Calgary Police Service. What's not unusual, she said, is online photos being used for unintended purposes.
"I think we are starting to see more of this, especially as social media progresses. And it has become significantly more common within the last 10 years," she said.
She also said while using the photos is disturbing, just lifting and reusing them is not illegal.
Police did lay charges on Tuesday. Strachan is facing one count of fraud under $5,000, related to a gift certificate he allegedly got under the pretence he was a struggling single dad; and two weapon offences, for unsafe storage of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm.
Police also confiscated a computer, phone and gun from his home on Tuesday. Investigators say they are going through the electronics now and more charges may be coming.
As for the girl's family, they thought their social media photos were protected from strangers, but had since discovered that some security settings were not what they thought.
"I thought I was private. And so now, like, we won't be posting. Obviously, there are still pictures of our family on there, but we have locked down to friends only."
Police advise families to check their privacy settings on all forms of social media.
Strachan did not respond to requests for comment from CBC News. It is not known if he has a lawyer. He has been released and is due in court on Aug. 9.
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