Five children rescued, at least 150 charged in Canadian child porn bust

Five children under the age of 10 were rescued by police following a national child pornography investigation that targeted alleged sex offenders and resulted in hundreds of charges, the RCMP said Thursday. Officers released the results of a four-month investigation into child exploitation that reached into every province, announcing in Halifax that more than 150 people have been arrested or are under investigation. Sgt. Michael Petrilli said almost two million images and videos have been seized, with many involving infants and toddlers.

I cannot stress enough what these images are and what they are not. These images are not simply children having a bubble bath. They are clearly children that are in a situation where they are being sexually assaulted.

RCMP Sgt. Michael Petrilli

Investigators said two of the children who have been rescued are from British Columbia, and the other three are from Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. They released few details about them but said they all knew their alleged abusers and only some of them were involved in cases of alleged pornography production.

The 343 charges include sexual assault, luring, possession and distribution of child pornography, and voyeurism. Petrilli said 104 people have been charged, but more charges are pending.

The Canadian Press reports

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