Predators who create, distribute and possess child sexual abuse material must be trembling at the news announced today of 64 Ontario province-wide arrests — for depravity that included even victimized infants.Tremble away, all cowards who prey on vulnerable children. Not so brave when you may be the hunted, eh? Let gripping terror of possibly already being on the law’s radar, knowing it could be coming for you next, penetrate the marrow in your bones.This crime against children is an epidemic. Its wicked tentacles reach far — but so does the determination of police determined to snuff it out. No predator is safe.Unfortunately, fear of getting caught couldn’t compare to what 34 identified child victims, ranging in age from infants to teenagers, endured.Another 30 children were “safeguarded.” That means they were rescued by police from a “dangerous position” where they were at risk of being victimized, Det.-Staff Sgt. Tim Brown, with Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) told a news conference Wednesday.The 64 arrested, aged 16 to 89, face 348 charges. They include repeat offenders — some charged with breaching probation orders — educators, businessmen, even a member of a ladies’ auxiliary.None of the charges have been proven in court.According to Toronto police, Cameron Ivens, 42, faces dozens of child porn charges. Police believe there may be more victims. He worked as an educational assistant at four schools and taught private piano lessons to children in their homes.Tyler Pennells, 26, and an educational assistant with the Toronto Catholic School Board is charged with two counts of luring a child under age 16 and one count each of invitation to sexual touching and transmitting sexually explicit material to a minor. There may be more victims.Sheena Smith, 37, is charged with agreeing/arranging to commit sexual offence against a minor, making child pornography, possessing child pornography, accessing, and making child pornography available. She was once charged with trying to connect with another adult to sexually exploit a child.This is but a snapshot of those rounded up.This is the result of 129 multi-jurisdictional Project Aquatic investigations involving 27 police services over a 10-day period into online child exploitation launched in February.As much as police are to be commended for this, it’s a drop in the bucket of this dark world with a staggering prevalence of child exploitation. “We find offenders across the province, every walk of life, every age,” said Brown.“We are working tirelessly to continuously apply pressure to those who seek to harm our children. These dangers are not confined to the internet. Predators go where children go.”But “digital playgrounds where predators lurk under the cover of anonymity and false identities” are massive hunting grounds.Much of the investigation involved police responding to complaints from electronic service providers. A total of 607 digital devices were seized. One accused possessed several devices with about 21 terabytes of child sexual abuse data. One terabyte can store up to 250,000 photos or 500 hours of video, he said.One individual looking to find a child for sexual purposes, unknowingly met with undercover investigators. “Our collective strength lies in our ongoing commitment to protect children from the impacts of sexual exploitation,” said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique.Since 2006 the provincial Internet Child Exploitation strategy completed 82,000 investigations leading to 29,000 charges with nearly 4,000 children “identified, supported and protected by this team.”“The strategy team has seen a staggering 191% increase in investigations. Despite investigative successes, our work is far from over. We must remain resolute in our efforts to protect children from sexual abuse,” said Carrique.“We have increased our capabilities to trace and intercept these offences, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to disrupting the victimization of children align and to apprehend those intent on causing them harm. But the police cannot do this alone.”The dark web facilitates child porn consumption and AI-generated images make investigations more complex.“Each passing year, the tools used by predators who wish to harm our children grow more sophisticated and harder to trace from advanced encryption to the dark web,” said Brown.“These factors add to the complexity of police investigations. With the advent of AI generated images, our task to differentiate between real and synthetic victims adds yet another element to our efforts in apprehending those who make, possess, access, and distribute child sexual abuse material.”“However, this does not deter us. With every device we analyze, every perpetrator we bring to justice, we are together disrupting the criminal activity threatening our children.”“In many cases, evidence of abuse is shared online and viewed by countless others. In that way, the cycle of abuse for these children continues for years or even decades.”Signy Arnason, with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said AI-generated child porn images have skyrocketed. “And hotlines around the world are being flooded with reports involving concerns of child sexual abuse material as well as online sexual violence toward youth,” she said.Canada’s national tip line — Cybertip.ca — for reporting online child sexual abuse receives “2,000 to 3,000” tips per month. About 23% of the 30,000 tips last year came from Ontario.“Through our work we have observed growing networks of adults with problematic sexual interest in children,” said Arnason.“These online communities share child sexual abuse material, encourage one another to share tactics that include how-to manuals.”They normalize sexual abuse of children.“Many within these communities obsess over certain victims, try to locate them, and even stalk them well into adulthood.”The dark web in which this conduct “festers” and AI generated images have “tipped the scale on an already epidemic-sized issue.”Technology companies must step up more to protect children. “We must approach the protection of children online with the same vigour we have rightfully committed to safeguarding children offline. Technology companies have wielded far too much power, for profit, at the expense of children and long gone are the days of expecting companies to prioritize child safety through voluntary action,” she said.“Upload prevention, expedited removal of child sexual abuse material, and proper moderation and training are equally critical elements in the fight against online exploitation and abuse of children.” In 2017, Project Arachnid, global tool to reduce availability of child sexual abuse material and harmful abusive images of children online, was launched. Since, it has issued over 40 million removal requests to 1500 service providers in 100 countries.“Every single day, Arachnid issues upwards of 20,000 removal notice requests to hosting providers around the world.”“We know that the expeditious removal of child sexual abuse material is critical for survivors healing and to minimize ongoing revictimization.”Arnason said Canadian police “cannot keep up.”Protecting children requires more government action and regulation.“This issue requires a commitment from a multitude of sectors, law enforcement, governments, online platforms, educators, parents, and organizations like ours are critical in this fight.”How about getting the courts to clamp down on child predators who are too often treated with leniency and set free to carry on abusing and exploiting children?Even infants.
Predators who create, distribute and possess child sexual abuse material must be trembling at the news announced today of 64 Ontario province-wide arrests — for depravity that included even victimized infants.Tremble away, all cowards who prey on vulnerable children. Not so brave when you may be the hunted, eh? Let gripping terror of possibly already being on the law’s radar, knowing it could be coming for you next, penetrate the marrow in your bones.This crime against children is an epidemic. Its wicked tentacles reach far — but so does the determination of police determined to snuff it out. No predator is safe.Unfortunately, fear of getting caught couldn’t compare to what 34 identified child victims, ranging in age from infants to teenagers, endured.Another 30 children were “safeguarded.” That means they were rescued by police from a “dangerous position” where they were at risk of being victimized, Det.-Staff Sgt. Tim Brown, with Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) told a news conference Wednesday.The 64 arrested, aged 16 to 89, face 348 charges. They include repeat offenders — some charged with breaching probation orders — educators, businessmen, even a member of a ladies’ auxiliary.None of the charges have been proven in court.According to Toronto police, Cameron Ivens, 42, faces dozens of child porn charges. Police believe there may be more victims. He worked as an educational assistant at four schools and taught private piano lessons to children in their homes.Tyler Pennells, 26, and an educational assistant with the Toronto Catholic School Board is charged with two counts of luring a child under age 16 and one count each of invitation to sexual touching and transmitting sexually explicit material to a minor. There may be more victims.Sheena Smith, 37, is charged with agreeing/arranging to commit sexual offence against a minor, making child pornography, possessing child pornography, accessing, and making child pornography available. She was once charged with trying to connect with another adult to sexually exploit a child.This is but a snapshot of those rounded up.This is the result of 129 multi-jurisdictional Project Aquatic investigations involving 27 police services over a 10-day period into online child exploitation launched in February.As much as police are to be commended for this, it’s a drop in the bucket of this dark world with a staggering prevalence of child exploitation. “We find offenders across the province, every walk of life, every age,” said Brown.“We are working tirelessly to continuously apply pressure to those who seek to harm our children. These dangers are not confined to the internet. Predators go where children go.”But “digital playgrounds where predators lurk under the cover of anonymity and false identities” are massive hunting grounds.Much of the investigation involved police responding to complaints from electronic service providers. A total of 607 digital devices were seized. One accused possessed several devices with about 21 terabytes of child sexual abuse data. One terabyte can store up to 250,000 photos or 500 hours of video, he said.One individual looking to find a child for sexual purposes, unknowingly met with undercover investigators. “Our collective strength lies in our ongoing commitment to protect children from the impacts of sexual exploitation,” said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique.Since 2006 the provincial Internet Child Exploitation strategy completed 82,000 investigations leading to 29,000 charges with nearly 4,000 children “identified, supported and protected by this team.”“The strategy team has seen a staggering 191% increase in investigations. Despite investigative successes, our work is far from over. We must remain resolute in our efforts to protect children from sexual abuse,” said Carrique.“We have increased our capabilities to trace and intercept these offences, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to disrupting the victimization of children align and to apprehend those intent on causing them harm. But the police cannot do this alone.”The dark web facilitates child porn consumption and AI-generated images make investigations more complex.“Each passing year, the tools used by predators who wish to harm our children grow more sophisticated and harder to trace from advanced encryption to the dark web,” said Brown.“These factors add to the complexity of police investigations. With the advent of AI generated images, our task to differentiate between real and synthetic victims adds yet another element to our efforts in apprehending those who make, possess, access, and distribute child sexual abuse material.”“However, this does not deter us. With every device we analyze, every perpetrator we bring to justice, we are together disrupting the criminal activity threatening our children.”“In many cases, evidence of abuse is shared online and viewed by countless others. In that way, the cycle of abuse for these children continues for years or even decades.”Signy Arnason, with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said AI-generated child porn images have skyrocketed. “And hotlines around the world are being flooded with reports involving concerns of child sexual abuse material as well as online sexual violence toward youth,” she said.Canada’s national tip line — Cybertip.ca — for reporting online child sexual abuse receives “2,000 to 3,000” tips per month. About 23% of the 30,000 tips last year came from Ontario.“Through our work we have observed growing networks of adults with problematic sexual interest in children,” said Arnason.“These online communities share child sexual abuse material, encourage one another to share tactics that include how-to manuals.”They normalize sexual abuse of children.“Many within these communities obsess over certain victims, try to locate them, and even stalk them well into adulthood.”The dark web in which this conduct “festers” and AI generated images have “tipped the scale on an already epidemic-sized issue.”Technology companies must step up more to protect children. “We must approach the protection of children online with the same vigour we have rightfully committed to safeguarding children offline. Technology companies have wielded far too much power, for profit, at the expense of children and long gone are the days of expecting companies to prioritize child safety through voluntary action,” she said.“Upload prevention, expedited removal of child sexual abuse material, and proper moderation and training are equally critical elements in the fight against online exploitation and abuse of children.” In 2017, Project Arachnid, global tool to reduce availability of child sexual abuse material and harmful abusive images of children online, was launched. Since, it has issued over 40 million removal requests to 1500 service providers in 100 countries.“Every single day, Arachnid issues upwards of 20,000 removal notice requests to hosting providers around the world.”“We know that the expeditious removal of child sexual abuse material is critical for survivors healing and to minimize ongoing revictimization.”Arnason said Canadian police “cannot keep up.”Protecting children requires more government action and regulation.“This issue requires a commitment from a multitude of sectors, law enforcement, governments, online platforms, educators, parents, and organizations like ours are critical in this fight.”How about getting the courts to clamp down on child predators who are too often treated with leniency and set free to carry on abusing and exploiting children?Even infants.
