Ontario Provincial Police say they have laid more than 270 charges against 80 people as part of a massive investigation into sexual abuse and online exploitation of children.
The charges include making, distribution and possession of child pornography, as well as sexual assault. The arrests occurred across the province, from Windsor to North Bay, and the accused come from “all walks of life,” Det. Sgt. Frank Goldschmidt, the co-ordinator of the provincial strategy against online child exploitation, told a news conference in Toronto on Thursday.
During the investigation, 20 victims were identified and referred to counselling and other services in their communities, the OPP said in a news release. Police were also able to rescue nine minors who were working in the sex trade against their will, “including 14, 15, and 16-year-olds.”
As part of their investigation, the OPP identified more than 2,000 unique IP addresses across the province that were either “download candidates” for suspected child pornography, or showed that the user had visited a child exploitation website.
“These IP addresses were observed over the last 90 days in Ontario,” police said in the release.
Lianna McDonald, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said the arrests announced Thursday send a critical message to those who make, share and access child abuse material online.
“This is an important day for children in Canada,” she told the news conference.
McDonald said the national child protection centre receives an average of 4,000 reports of possible child abuse and online exploitation each month. Eighty per cent of child pornography images distributed on the internet involve children under the age of 12, and 80 per cent of the victims are girls, she said.
The OPP says that the provincial strategy against child exploitation has resulted in more than 11,000 charges against 3,300 people since August 2006 – and that doesn’t include the most recent arrests.
