9 Ottawa men charged in international child porn case,

Toronto police say 341 total arrests, 382 children ‘rescued’ in Project Spade

Nine men from Ottawa have been charged in an international child pornography investigation that began with a Toronto man and ended with the rescue of 382 children.

Toronto police said Thursday that 341 people were arrested around the world as part of Project Spade, which they described as one of the largest child porn busts they’ve ever achieved.

Toronto police said 50 of those arrested are from Ontario, and 58 are from other parts of Canada.

Ottawa police Sgt. François D’Aoust, with the Internet child exploitation unit, said eight of the Ottawa men face 20 charges, including possession and accessing child pornography. Ottawa police also laid charges related to two firearms that were seized during their investigation.

Ottawa police said Thursday they would not re-release the names of the those charged in Project Spade.

Ottawa police released the names and charges after each arrest between November 2011 and February 2013, but didn’t link them to the international investigation.

During Project Spade, information was received that led to a spinoff investigation by Ottawa police and charges against a former resident.

Scott Waldo Fraser was charged with 64 offences after his arrest in July 2012, including possession, accessing and making child pornography, sexual assault, and invitation to sexual touching.

Fraser, a Brampton man who used to live in Ottawa, was accused of luring young boys to his Ottawa home to sexually assault them on camera. Videos of the assaults were posted online and shared with others.

At the time Fraser was charged, police alleged he had sexually assaulted five boys from the ages of nine to 17 when he lived in Ottawa from 2002 to 2008.

The number of victims had doubled by the time the investigation was complete.

Police said Thursday that a Toronto man at the heart of the investigation was running a company since 2005 that allegedly distributed child pornography videos, bringing in $4 million in revenue.

Police allege the man instructed people around the world to create videos of children ranging from five to 12 years of age, then distributed the videos to international customers.

The investigation began in October 2010 when undercover Toronto police officers contacted a man allegedly sharing images of sexual abuse.

When Toronto police discovered the man at the centre of their investigation was running a child pornography-producing company, they partnered with the United States Postal Inspection Service. On May 1, 2011, police executed search warrants at a business and a home in Toronto.

Through their investigation, police were able to identify the child pornography customers from around the world.

The RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Co-ordination Centre helped police provide information to forces in 50 countries, including Australia, Spain, Mexico, South Africa, Ireland, Hong Kong and Greece.