Thunder Bay police say co-operation, communication is key to combat child exploitation
2 Thunder Bay residents charged in OPP's Project Aquatic investigations
Being part of Ontario's Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) strategy is key for police services like Thunder Bay's when it comes to combating that type of crime.
The Thunder Bay Police Service is one of 27 Ontario police services who are part of ICE, and the city's Cyber Crime Unit played a role in the OPP's recent province-wide Project Aquatic initiative, which saw 64 Ontario residents charged with child exploitation-related crimes; in total, 348 charges were laid, and 34 victims identified.
Thunder Bay's involvement in Project Aquatic saw three search warrants executed, 17 electronic devices seized, and two people were charged:
- A 28-year-old man faces charges of making child pornography available, three counts of failing to comply with a release order, and one count of failing to comply with probation, and
- An 18-year-old man is facing three counts of luring a person under age 16, and three counts of making sexually explicit material available.
The 28-year-old remains in custody, while the 18-year-old has been released. Both are due back in court in June.
Thunder Bay police Det. Insp. Jeremy Pearson said the provincial strategy plays a major role in helping police services like Thunder Bay's investigate child exploitation-related crimes.
"The access to not only to resources, not only to supports in terms of in terms of financial supports, but also just the access to other investigators, the sharing of best practices, the access to legal advice from dedicated Crown attorneys that sort of cooperation in the law enforcement realm is key," he said. "It's the only way for a service our size, a service in our location ... to be actively contributing to a provincial approach to trying to combat this sort of crime."
Pearson said the city's Cyber Crime Unit is a busy one. In fact, this week alone, the unit has executed two search warrants in the city.
In one instance, a Woodlawn Avenue home was searched on May 8, and a 21-year-old man charged with possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography.
That investigation began earlier this year after police received a tip that a local Internet user had uploaded child sexual abuse material, police said in a media release.
The accused has been remanded into custody pending a future court appearance.
Pearson said the second investigation, which saw a search warrant executed on May 7, is ongoing.
"Our unit is extremely busy," Pearson said. "They are constantly undertaking investigations. I can't think of a week that goes by that they're not engaging in a search warrant and laying charges against people who have been accessing or distributing or sharing this sort of material."
The work, as well, takes its toll on the members of the unit, Pearson said.
"My hat is is forever off to those investigators in terms of the content that they're dealing with," he said. "Crimes against children are are incredibly traumatic for those involved, for those who are involved in the investigations, and those who have to explore and and categorize this material as they do."
"There's a very human cost of doing these investigations."
Pearson said the problem of child sexual exploitation isn't only going to be addressed through law enforcement, however; preventative measures in the community are also required, as are initiatives that protect children and increase awareness of the issue.
"What it what it boils down to is having open lines of communication with children [and] people who are vulnerable," he said. "Just keeping the lines of communication open for anything that seems odd."
"I'm forever telling people that they need to trust their instincts to some extent," Pearson said. "And if something seems odd to ask about it or to tell someone."
"Keeping those lines of communication, I think, is the foundation upon which we can then build all of these other preventative strategies."