RCMP logo shown in Edmonton, Feb. 5. The RCMP said charges laid so far include possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, luring a child under the age of 16 and publication of an intimate image without consent.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Police forces conducted a nationwide operation to combat child sex abuse online last month, resulting in 106 arrests and the seizure of more than 1,000 electronic devices, the RCMP has announced.
Around 40 child victims had been identified, 37 of whom were subsequently “safeguarded,” said Inspector Matthieu Girard, officer in charge of operations at the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre, at a Wednesday press conference with Ontario and Quebec police in Ottawa.
NCECC worked with 63 law enforcement partners, including Ontario police, Durham regional police service and Quebec police (Sûreté de Quebec), on Project STEEL, a nationwide operation to catch online child abusers and identify their victims.
The operation led to the issuing of more than 192 search warrants and the seizure of 1,132 electronic devices, some of which were concealed and found by dogs trained to detect hidden phones, laptops and thumb drives.
No cases have yet gone to court, but the RCMP said charges laid so far include possession of child pornography, distribution of child pornography, luring a child under the age of 16 and publication of an intimate image without consent.
Charges of sexual assault, criminal harassment and indecent acts were also laid, the RCMP said, with 395 investigations continuing.
Insp. Girard said a key part of the investigation, which took place Feb. 17-28, involved identifying and finding children who had been exploited online. Most of the exploited children identified were Canadian, with a few from other countries.
He said the “magnitude of this type of crime,” which includes online luring, the exchange of pornographic images, and material custom-ordered by offenders, is immense. He said every report they receive, including from internet providers, is followed up on.
Between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, the NCECC received 118,162 complaints and reports about suspected online child sex offences – a 1,278-per-cent increase compared with 10 years previously.
“Technological advancement and the shift to more online activity have contributed to this increase,” he said.
Lianna McDonald, executive director at Canadian Centre for Child Protection, told The Globe and Mail in an e-mailed statement that “some of the individuals charged with these crimes had direct access to children.”
She added that “as indicated by police, the majority of these arrests were made possible because online services, like social-media companies, reported suspected illegal content to the authorities. The use of content moderation practices by tech companies works, this demonstrates this fact.”
Ms. McDonald said, however, that not all online services practise content moderation, as it is voluntary in Canada.
Detective Staff Sergeant Tim Brown of Ontario Provincial Police, who co-ordinates the province’s strategy to protect children from sexual abuse on the internet, said 650 devices were seized and searched for child abuse images in Ontario, with investigations continuing.
He said catching abusers involved police officers stepping into “the darkest corners of the internet to investigate these crimes,” adding that “behind every image seized and lead followed is a child in need of protection, and our investigative teams never lose sight of that.”
Detective Andrew Ullock, officer in charge at Peel Police’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit, said his electronic storage detection dog, Harley, a four-year-old yellow labrador retriever, searched suspects’ homes to help find hidden devices during the Project STEEL operation.
“Some houses are very cluttered so it could be difficult to find all of the devices, and it’s important that we don’t miss devices, because missed devices means missed evidence, and missed evidence can mean a missed victim that we would have had a chance to otherwise identify,” he said.
The dog also helped officers dealing with deeply disturbing material cope, by offering them emotional support, Det. Ullock said.
Durham Regional Police Service also deployed a specially trained dog called Pixel to find concealed electronic devices during the operation last month.
Samantha Mayhew, handler of the 16-month-old chocolate labrador, said Pixel also supported “members of our team throughout the day” as well as providing “emotional support to a victim during an interview.”