26 men arrested in 'large-scale' child pornography investigation in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick
Handcuffs are pictured above in this file photo.
Quebec provincial police say 26 men have been arrested in a massive internet child pornography operation that spanned three provinces and involved hundreds of police officers.
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) announced Friday morning that they conducted searches between Monday and Thursday in the Greater Montreal area, as well as several other locations in throughout Quebec, including Trois-Rivières, Repentigny, Saint-Jérôme, Terrebonne, Laval, Saint-Hyacinthe, Drummondville, Quebec City, Acton Vale, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Sherbrooke, Val-d'Or, Rouyn-Noranda, Gatineau, Longueuil, St-Georges, Beauceville and Cap-Santé.
The SQ said it was a "large-scale" operation of more than 300 sworn and civilian police officers, led by its integrated team to combat child pornography known as EILPJ. Police seized the computers of the 26 men, who ranged in age from 17 to 84.
Police in Ontario and New Brunswick also made arrests as part of the operation.
The accused appeared in court in their jurisdictions to face charges of production, possession, distribution, and accessing child pornography.
The SQ says anyone can report a case of sexual exploitation of young people online by visiting cyberaide.ca or by calling Centrale de l'information criminelle at 1-800-659-4264.
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