47 Canadians Have Been Charged in Global Sex Trafficking Ring

RCMP says 47 Canadians have been arrested and 12 children have been removed from abusive situations as part of a global investigation into online child sexual exploitation.

The Mounties say 186 charges have been laid in Canada so far during the investigation, dubbed Operation H.

They say arrests have been made in eight provinces over the past two years, but note the investigation is still underway.

The RCMP say the probe began in New Zealand in the fall of 2019, after law enforcement officials were alerted by an electronic service provider who had discovered a large number of subscribers sharing “some of the most graphic and violent child sexual abuse material online.”

They say some 90,000 accounts were identified as possessing or sharing child sexual abuse material. Toronto police, who were contacted as part of the probe, say they have arrested and charged six men with a total of 18 offences, including some related to possessing, accessing, and distributing child sex abuse material.

Toronto police Insp. Justin Vander Heyden of the sex crimes unit says one of the accused has since been convicted and jailed, one has died, and the other four are still going through the justice system.