HUNDREDS of children have been rescued – including six from Australia – and hundreds arrested after an online child pornography ‘supermarket’ was busted.
Priests, doctors, teachers and lawyers are among 341 arrests world-wide – 65 of them in Australia – after the child-porn exchange and purchase ring was uncovered by Canadian police.
A bust in Toronto two years ago led to the investigation which has produced the rescue of 386 sexually abused children around the world, police say.
The 341 related arrests included 40 school teachers, nine doctors and nurses, 32 people who volunteered with children, six law enforcement personnel, nine pastors or priests and three foster parents, Inspector Joanna Beavan-Desjardins, commander of the Toronto police sex crimes unit, told media earlier this morning.
Australian Federal Police commander Glen McEwen briefed media this morning about the Australian arrests as part of Operation Thunderer, the local component of an international effort named Project Spade.
So far it has been revealed 103 search warrants were executed in Australia in recent months, leading to 65 arrests and 399 charges. More charges are expected.
Among the details emerging:
- NSW police say two teachers, a priest and a former priest are among nine arrests.
- Teachers, a nurse, a carer and an accountant are among 33 Queenslanders who have been arrested.
- Twelve South Australians have been charged.
- Victoria has had five arrests.
- WA is reporting four arrests.
- Six Australian children have been removed from harm, one in the ACT and five in WA.
There were 108 arrests in Canada and another 76 in the United States.
Commander McEwen said more arrests are expected as further forensic results are returned.
He said all of those arrested in the operation, which began in Australia in early 2012, are all male and were customers of a Toronto-based website. The AFP said those accessing the website had to produce and exchange new material in order to access further content.
Those who prey on children had been put on notice, Commander McEwen said.
“Their unlawful online activity can and will be detected,” he told reporters in Canberra. “Predators will be pursued, no matter where they are.”
Canadian media are describing the website as ‘the Amazon.com of child porn’. It was the recovery of its customer list that initiated the Australian investigations last year.
Customer list ‘demanded urgent action’
QUEENSLAND: As part of the operation, Queensland police searched 38 homes from Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast to Atherton, near Cairns.
Detective Superintendent Cameron Harsley says some of the alleged offenders worked with children, including teachers and a nurse.
“Once we received the list and saw some of the occupations of the alleged offenders, we knew we had to move quickly,” he said.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA:Â Eight men have been charged by South Australian Police and four by AFP officers since August. Among those charged are a 49-year-old Payneham South man, a 36-year-old Mount Gambier man, a 51-year-old Ascot Park man, a 54-year-old Mount Gambier man, an 84-year-old Warradale man, a 73-year-old Alberton man and a 44-year-old Elizabeth man. Further arrests are expected.
NEW SOUTH WALES: Among the nine arrested include a 42-year-old school teacher arrested at Cowra on July 24 and another 42-year-old Emu Plains teacher arrested on August 7.
A 72-year-old retired Catholic priest was arrested at Lake Haven on the Central Coast on August 20 and a 57-year-old priest was arrested at The Rocks on July 29.
“We will continue to prioritise the identification of these people so they can be put before the courts,” NSW Police Sex Crimes Squad Commander Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec said in a statement.
VICTORIA:Â Five Victorians have been arrested in relation to the child pornography ring.
Among them is a 50-year-old St Kilda man who has been charged with possessing, accessing and using a carriage service for child exploitation material, Victoria Police said this morning.
The international arrests so far include:
- a lawyer and youth baseball coach in the US who pled guilty to producing more than 500 videos of children under the age of 16 who he sexually molested;
- a US school employee who pled guilty to receiving child pornography and admitted to placing a hidden video camera in students’ toilets;
- a pre-school teacher who pled guilty to producing child pornography while employed in Japan; and
- a Texas police sergeant who pled guilty to producing a video of a child involved in sexually explicit conduct.
- Alleged Canadian clients include a Chatham hockey coach, a Toronto teacher, a priest and Scout leader in Quebec, and a retired high school principal in Nova Scotia.
Canadian ‘Amazon.com of child porn’
Toronto Police Service Chief William Blair told a media conference overnight Australian time that undercover officers made initial contact with the ring in October 2010 through a Toronto man suspected of sharing child pornography.
Their investigation led to a company believed to be producing and distributing “child exploitation videos and images over the internet” .
Police said the man running the company, Brian Way, allegedly “paid various people to film children for the purpose of creating movies for sale on his website.”
The company would allegedly contract people to create child porn videos involving children, largely boys, between the ages of five and 12. Many of those videos were allegedly shot in Ukraine and Romania in apartments, saunas and backyards.
The 42-year-old’s home and business were raided seven months later and he was charged with operating a website that sold and distributed child pornography.
The website Azovfilms.com allegedly earned him $4.08 million annually after it started in 2005.
The Toronto Star describes Azovfilms.com as a sophisticated site with an interface similar to Amazon.com. Customers could peruse Top 10 lists and reviews, as well as a searchable catalogue.
Altogether, about 45 terabytes of child pornography on computers were seized, portraying hundreds of thousands of sexual acts involving children.
Among the seized assets was the company’s customer list.
 International effort
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair called its investigation an extraordinary example of international cooperation from law enforcement.
“This is a great triumph for Australian law enforcement who worked closely alongside international partner agencies to bring the Australian-based users before the courts,” the AFP said in a statement.
The United States Postal Inspection Service was also involved in the probe, as were authorities in Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Hong Kong, among others.
Quebec police say they have also arrested 10 teens on child pornography charges.
Police spokeswoman Const. Nathalie Lorrain says the boys, aged 13 to 15, allegedly coaxed their friends and girlfriends into posing for pictures they later shared among themselves.
Police said they were arrested in Laval, a Montreal suburb. They face various charges including the production, possession and distribution of child pornography.