A former Edmonton Police Service employee whose name and photo were released by police when he was charged with sexually abusing a teenage boy has been found not guilty.
Court of King's Bench Justice Kent Teskey acquitted Yasin Cetin, 34, of sexual assault and child luring on Thursday, Oct. 8, four days into his second trial.
Teskey ruled the Crown hadn't proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Cetin was the man who abused a 14-year-old boy in December 2023, and criticized how police identified him, according to the Edmonton Journal, which was in court.
The ruling was delivered orally and hasn't been published.
Charged in 2025
Cetin worked as a civilian community relations co-ordinator in the Edmonton Police Service's equity and inclusion branch, and resigned on May 31, 2024.
On March 14, 2025, Edmonton police announced six charges against him: sexual assault, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, luring a child under 16, making child pornography and distributing child pornography.
Police said a man using the name "BadLee" on Snapchat had met a 14-year-old boy through the app and sexually assaulted him. They released Cetin's name and photo, saying he'd been involved in local and national youth programs, and they were concerned there could be other victims.
Cetin denied the allegations through his lawyer. While he waited for trial, he was barred from contact with anyone under 16, and from places like schools, playgrounds, pools and libraries. His lawyer has said he was also barred from using the internet and social media.
A first trial that collapsed
Cetin's first trial began on May 25, 2026. He pleaded not guilty.
The next day, Crown prosecutor David Gault asked for a mistrial. He told the court new evidence had "radically" changed the Crown's theory of the case, and that the Crown no longer believed Cetin was the person behind the Snapchat usernames.
Cetin's lawyer, Zachary Al-Khatib, said that came after he shared evidence of an alibi with the Crown.
The Crown went to trial again anyway, using a different date for the offence. The retrial began on Monday, Oct. 5.
The case against him
The boy, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, testified by video link. He'd been living in a group home in December 2023. He said a man he met on Snapchat picked him up and sexually abused him in a vehicle, and he recorded a video during the abuse.
The question at trial was who that man was.
Gault argued the circumstantial evidence pointed to Cetin. A selfie on one of the boy's devices appeared to show him. The man had told the boy he was 31, Cetin's age at the time, and that he lived across from the boy's former foster home, near a property Cetin owns. And a phone seized from Cetin had access to an email address similar to a Snapchat name used to message the boy.
Why the judge acquitted
Teskey found the evidence didn't prove it was Cetin.
Police had shown the boy a single photo of the man they suspected, instead of a lineup of several. "It carries every danger that the photo lineup process is designed to avoid," Teskey said.
The boy's video was too poor to identify anyone. Police brightened a still from it and ran it through facial recognition software, against databases that included photos of Cetin. It didn't return a match.
At most, the judge said, there was some evidence Cetin may have messaged the boy from one Snapchat account. But it wasn't the account used to set up the meeting, and it had no sexual content.
Al-Khatib asked for a directed verdict: asking the judge to end the trial after hearing only the Crown's evidence, because it couldn't prove the case. The defence didn't have to call any witnesses. Teskey agreed, which is rare.
'Devastating'
Al-Khatib said Cetin had an alibi: receipts, group chat messages and photos showing he was at dinner with friends that night. He said the selfie could have been a profile photo taken from a public social media account.
He said Cetin is relieved, but disappointed the Crown prosecuted him twice.
"I think what we have here is a demonstration of the risks of human confirmation bias and error when it comes to identification cases," he said, calling it a case of "mistaken identity."
"The consequences of this prosecution have been devastating for my client," he said. "I think getting an acquittal in court is the first step towards rebuilding his life, but it's far from the last."
What's still unclear
Cetin was charged with six offences in 2025. The charges at the retrial included sexual assault, luring and, according to CBC, possessing child exploitation material. Coverage of the verdict only mentions sexual assault and luring, and it isn't yet clear what happened to the other charges.
Edmonton police haven't said whether the investigation will continue, or whether they'll update the 2025 news release that named Cetin and showed his photo.
Sources
Edmonton Police Service, news release, March 14, 2025
Trial evidence, the judge's ruling and lawyers' comments as reported by the Edmonton Journal. The mistrial, retrial and charges at trial as reported by the Edmonton Journal and CBC News.
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