Woman, youth among 22 arrested in child porn bust
Updated
Tue.
Feb.
12
2008
11:01
AM
ET
CTV.ca
News
Staff
The Ontario Provincial Police have announced the arrest of 22 people in what's being called the largest child pornography investigation in the province's history.
"Child pornography is the sexual abuse of children, a brutal crime committed by despicable predators," OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino told a news conference today in Toronto about raids carried out Monday by the OPP and 18 municipal police forces.
"Today's successful announcement has taken weeks of legwork by dozens of members of the provincial strategy to protect children," he said.
"Fair warning to pedophiles: You can run, but you can't hide. And sooner or later, we will identify you, we'll arrest you, and we'll bring you to justice."
The probe began in January. Twenty-five search warrants were executed in 16 communities. A total of 73 criminal charges have been laid.
Here are some of the communities involved:
 | Brampton
(1
arrest)
| Brantford
(1
arrest)
| Burlington
(1
arrest)
| Cambridge
(1
arrest)
| Cornwall
(1
arrest)
| Espanola
(1
arrest)
| Guelph
(2
arrests)
| Hamilton
(2
arrests)
| London
(1
arrest)
| Milton
(1
arrest)
| Mississauga
(1
arrest)
| Oshawa
(1
arrest)
| Ottawa
(2
arrests)
| Peterborough
(1
arrest)
| Red
Lake
(1
arrest)
| Sault
Ste.
Marie
(1
arrest)
| Toronto
(2
arrests)
| Whitby
(1
arrest) | |
Most of the offenders are males, with their ages ranging from 20 to 64. One female has been charged, as has one young offender.
Most have been charged with either possessing child pornography and/or making child pornography available.
More arrests are pending and police continue to investigate, the OPP said.
"Now let's see what the courts do with these cases," Fantino said.
The news comes on the heels of a new study of child pornography activity in Canada's largest province.
A U.S. task force, working with Toronto police, has found that more than 4,000 computers in Toronto are involved in trading images of child sexual abuse, the Toronto Star reported Tuesday.
About 45,000 computers across the nation are involved in child porn trading, with about one-third of those in Ontario.
Canada ranks fourth in the word in online child pornography distribution activity. The top three are Bermuda, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
According to U.S. data, about 30 per cent of those who view such imagery go on to commit sexual offences against children, the Star said.
