Project Salvo: Canadian police arrest more than 50 individuals for Internet-facilitated child sexual abuse

Ottawa—This week, policing partners across Canada carried out the largest ever co-ordinated investigation into Internet-facilitated child sexual abuse in the country. More than 50 individuals have been arrested and face charges that include: sexual assault, sexual interference and possessing, making and distributing child pornography.

The National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC), which holds the national mandate for coordinating these investigations, developed the operation in conjunction with its domestic policing partners.

“I’d like to thank Canadian law enforcement agencies from across the country for their actions this week. All of us here today are proud of the work our investigators do and we are happy that many children have been saved from further victimization,” stated RCMP Superintendent John Bilinski, Officer-in-charge of the NCECC.

The investigation focused on users who would meet other like-minded individuals and exchange images in different online environments.

“These on-line images and videos contain real victims—real children being sexually abused,” added Chief Constable Derek Egan, Saanich Police. “These arrests are important for many reasons-the partnership aspect, the number of arrests and the message that it sends. We will not be deterred from protecting children and making the Internet a safer place for everyone.”

“Internet-facilitated child sexual abuse crosses many jurisdictions and requires partners to work together to identify perpetrators and identify victims. Ultimately, our goal is to protect children from this abuse.” concluded Bilinski.

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