Hundreds held over Canada child porn

November 14, 2013 | By hromedia | Reply More

Nov 14, – Police in Toronto say 341 people have been arrested and nearly 400 children rescued in a three-year investigation into a child pornography ring. At the centre of the inquiry was a Toronto-based firm that allegedly sold DVDs and streamed videos of naked boys in Germany, Romania and Ukraine.

Azov Films marketed the footage as “naturist” and claimed they were legal in Canada and the US.

The films were distributed in 94 countries, police said.

Some 100 arrests were made in Canada and 240 in other countries, police said.

The head of the company, identified as Canadian Brian Way, 41, has been in custody since his arrest in May 2011, following an undercover operation, local media report.

Inspector Joanna Beavan-Desjardins, from Toronto police, said the number of suspects who had close contact with children was of particular concern to investigators.

Doctors, school teachers, foster carers and priests were among those detained, she said.

The head of Azov Films, identified as Canadian Brian Way, 42, has been in custody since his arrest in May 2011, following an undercover operation.

He is accused of paying people to film the children and has been charged with 11 offences. The company has been shut down.

Identities

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) Child Exploitation Section was able to determine the identities of customers using Azov Films’ databases.

US investigators then joined the inquiry because many of the films were being exported to addresses in America. Seven months later, a series of raids took place across Toronto, including at a site owned by Azov Films and Brian Way, police said.

Among the other countries involved in the investigation were Australia, Spain, Mexico, South Africa, Norway, Greece and the Republic of Ireland.

“It is alleged that officers located hundreds of thousands of images and videos detailing horrific sexual acts against very young children – some of the worst they have ever viewed,” police told reporters.

Ms Beavan-Desjardins said that Canadian officers, executing a search warrant at the home of a retired school teacher, found over 350,000 images and 9,000 videos depicting child abuse, with some of the victims known to the man. He was also charged with sexually abusing a young child relative, she said.

Press journalist for HRO media – Debi campillos contributed to this report.