A U of M associate professor and child psychologist has been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography.

Gary Shady, 72, was arrested in his Fort Rouge home Wednesday.

An investigation by the Winnipeg Police Service’s Internet child exploitation unit began in early October after an online storage service notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of sexual abuse imagery being held on its service. The centre then notified Winnipeg police and the National Child Exploitation Co-ordination Centre in Ottawa.

Police seized an electronic device containing child sexual images, along with several other electronic devices. The charges were announced Thursday.

Shady was listed as recently as Friday morning on the U of M’s website as an associate professor at the faculty of health sciences and he saw patients as a child psychologist at the Manitoba Adolescent Treatment Centre. He also had patients at the Health Sciences Centre.

While Shady was technically an associate professor, he did not have a teaching position on campus, according to U of M spokesperson John Danakas.

“His association with the University of Manitoba would have been limited to a nil appointment as an associate professor […] providing clinical training for residents and medical students, primarily residents,” Danakas said.

According to Danakas, nil appointments typically provide training to medical students and residents, and are chosen by the university, but not formally employed by the U of M. They are typically employees of the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA).

Clinical training by Shady would have been held at a WRHA facility.

“The university doesn’t pay this individual […] the WRHA does,” Danakas said.

“This is not an employee, in that sense, of the university.”

Winnipeg police service spokesperson Const. Jay Murray called the images “concerning,” and noted the investigation will look into whether his patients had been victimized.

“Whenever we release on an incident, whether it be of this nature or something else, there’s always a possibility that other victims may come forward,” Murray said in a release.

The WRHA has confirmed he has been placed on administrative leave.

Danakas said he is no longer involved with the university in any way, as “the association with the university relies on that appointment.”

The investigation is ongoing.