TORONTO - Police have charged 35 people, and identified two alleged victims, following a provincewide child pornography investigation.
At a news conference in Toronto Wednesday, Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Julian Fantino, and representatives of other provincial police forces involved, announced details of the investigation.
A total of 44 search warrants were executed, resulting in 122 charges against 35 people. Charges include sexual assault, accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography, various drug offences and numerous charges for possessing prohibited weapons.
In addition, two child victims were identified during the investigation - one in Ontario and one outside Canada.
Additional arrests are pending, police said.
"Every image of child pornography represents a child victim. Every trading or transmission of that image represents a re-victimization of that child," said Fantino.
The 18 police forces involved make up the Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet, created in August 2006 to ensure a co-ordinated, provincewide approach to combating Internet crimes against children.
Since then, there have been 8,260 investigations completed by the Provincial Strategy partners and OPP Child Sexual Exploitation Section. During that time, 3,394 charges have been laid against 1,130 people in the province of Ontario.
Copyright (c) CW Media Inc.