A Canadian “kink-allied” psychologist who worked with vulnerable youth in Calgary is facing child pornography charges following his arrest on January 30 by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams’ (ALERT) internet child exploitation unit. Dustin Hrycun, 45, worked to treat both adults and troubled youth at Rising Sun Psychological Services.
Hrycun has been charged with possessing and disseminating child pornography through the online social media application Kik. Kik is a freeware messaging platform notorious for its use in facilitating in child sexual abuse.
ALERT told CTV News that it is “unknown at this time” if any of his young clients were among the victims.
“Given the suspect’s position of care and trust, it is certainly concerning, and we can appreciate how clients would be alarmed,” said Staff Sgt. Mark Auger in a Friday news release. “Our investigation will continue, and with a full forensic analysis of his electronic devices in an attempt to explore other evidence.”
Despite the ongoing investigation, Hrycun was released from custody into the community and is scheduled to appear in court February 25.
A now-deleted online profile posted to Psychology Today listed Hrycun as a “sex-positive,” “kink allied,” “queer allied,” “transgender allied,” and “non-monogamy” expert offering counseling services for teens and adults.
“I specialize in depression, anxiety, trauma, couples work, life transition, belief system struggles, religious trauma, existential and self discovery, and sexuality and gender issues. In being a survivor of conversion therapy I have a passion for helping people move through and past anything holding them back from living life unhindered,” reads Hrycun’s profile.
Reduxx has located several social media profiles belonging to Hrycun which reveal that he supports gender ideology and identifies as a homosexual who, he claims, was made to undergo “conversion therapy” at an earlier time.
On one of his profiles, Hrycun has shared his mixed media art which often depicts overt sexual themes. One image, posted in 2019, which shows a heart drawn with foam, is captioned: “Sadly, there are arguably few minorities that are misunderstood and less loved than the beauties that make up the ‘T’ in our LGBGTQ+ community.”
Another post from December that year is of a collage of nude men on a rainbow background with a pair of praying hands featured prominently in the foreground.
“I was once sadly a part of a conservative religious background that spoke of praying the gay away,” Hrycun wrote in the image description.
“I once was prayed for in hopes that the gay would be taken away… this also came with the expectation I was to be slain by the spirit; essentially overcome by the power of God so much so that my physical strength would collapse and I would fall to the ground,” he continued.
“It’s a shame the guys behind me, waiting to catch me when I ‘got slain,’ weren’t better looking… it woulda made the attempts by the man praying and pushing his hand hard into my forehead, seemingly to get me to lose my balance, easier to give into. So, perhaps instead we should use the golden hands of righteous prayer to pray for the gay as opposed to praying something away.”
Several other images created by Hrycun feature photo clippings from what appear to pornography magazines. However, it is the video content made by Hrycun, and ostensibly made readily available to his young patients, which is the most unsettling.
On another Instagram account, Hrycun has produced over a dozen bizarre videos of himself writhing to the song “Moonlight Desires” by Lawrence Gowan to advertise his services as a psychologist. The videos are part of a campaign Hrycun created which he calls “non-monotonous Mondays,” but rather than showcasing any professional expertise, they often depict him behaving as though suffering from mental illness.
In one video, Hrycun is dressed in drag and mimes a seductive dance; in another, his face is painted to resemble a tiger and he continuously sprays water on himself as the makeup runs down his chin; in his pinned post, Hrycun is seen bound with a bag over his head, and after he frees himself, what appears to be jets of soda burst in front of his lap.
In all of the videos, Hrycun lipsyncs the lyrics: “You’ve got ways to take hold of my thoughts, overriding my senses… These moonlight desires haunt me, they want me.”
“Non-monotonous Mondays are about realizing that we get to be co-creators of the days we experience,” Hrycun has repeatedly captioned each video. “Not every day is the same, or has to be the same, just as much as every crack in the sidewalk isn’t the same, and very much about how not every ‘moonlight desires’ experience needs to be the same.”
Rising Sun Psychological Services, where Hrycun was previously employed, issued a statement on Friday, which read: “We are shocked and saddened by this news involving Mr. Hrycun. At Rising Sun Psychological Services Inc. we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. Mr. Hrycun had a very short tenure with Rising Sun Psychological Services Inc. In light of the circumstances, any and all association with Mr. Hrycun have been terminated. We understand investigations are ongoing and, as such, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Anyone with information about this investigation, or any online child exploitation, is encouraged to contact local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at crimestoppers.ab.ca.
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