Sixty people are facing nearly 250 charges in connection with an Ontario-wide child-porn probe – an investigation that police say shows that child exploitation is "not just a big-city problem."
The charges were laid after Ontario Provincial Police executed 99 search warrants in both rural and urban communities across the province.
"This isn't just a big-city problem," Insp. Scott Naylor told reporters at a news conference Thursday morning. He added that investigators viewed thousands of "horrific images" during their probe.
"It is one of the most difficult jobs in police work you can imagine," he said.
Among those charged are three people under the age of 18, and a Toronto District School Board (TDSB) caretaker. The board says that the charges "do not involve any students" from Northern Secondary School or any other TDSB school.
"We know that this situation may be upsetting for some of our students and will ensure that supports are in place for those students," Northern Secondary School's principal Ron Felsen said in a statement on Thursday that was emailed to the students' parents and guardians.
The OPP say the raids also led to the rescue of 14 child victims, and the seizure of drugs and some weapons. Police say they expect to make more arrests and identify more victims as their investigation continues.
"The sweep carried out over the past few days is another wake-up call to those who commit these monstrous crimes against children," Chief Supt. Don Bell said Thursday. He said police believe most of the suspects do not know each other.
During Thursday's press conference, police also displayed an animated map showing more than 7,000 unique Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that were gathered over a 180-day period. These IP addresses were flagged as “download candidates for suspected child pornography," police said in a statement.
"This investigation highlights the pervasiveness of Internet-based dangers of child luring, sexual exploitation and abuse," Naylor said in a statement.
Since the launch of the OPP's Provincial Strategy initiative in 2006, more than 23,580 investigations into child exploitation have been conducted.
"The Provincial Strategy demonstrates the success that police services can achieve when working together and sharing our best practices and information," Bell said.
The OPP have also laid 8,750 charges against 2,617 people between August 2006 and August 2014 as a result of the Provincial Strategy. More than 530 child victims have also been rescued and identified in Ontario during that period.
The 60 suspects face a number of charges, including access and possessing child pornography.
