Ottawa police and RCMP officers have executed seven search warrants and arrested six men and one woman in Ottawa and one man in Gatineau as part of the largest crackdown on online child pornography in Canadian history.
As of Thursday afternoon, 57 people across Canada had been arrested after police executed 72 search warrants, said Sgt. Dave Fox with National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre.
Project SALVO was modelled after similar investigations conducted by several police services in Ontario, most recently in early February when the OPP charged 31 people with child pornography-related offences.
“We want to send the message that we’re going to be very proactive and you are not anonymous behind your computer screens,” said Fox.
Thea Bradford, 38, Andrew Burke, 43, Richard Contant, 46, Robert Desmarais, 40, Paul Andre Dumais, 33, Stephane Durocher, 36, and Donald Etmanskie, 51, face a variety of charges.
Gatineau resident, Patrick Dupuis-Gendron, 26, was also charged. A warrant has been issued for Michael Kennefick, 22.
