Quebec Police Arrest 22 Men Following Child Sexual Exploitation Investigation

A person types on a computer keyboard in this photo file. The Canadian Press/Graeme Roy

Quebec police have arrested and charged 22 men following an investigation into online child exploitation in the province.

Police said the men range in age from 18 to 70 years old, but did not release their names.

The Sûreté du Québec said more than 150 police officers were involved in an investigation from Nov. 3 to 7, including members of the Internet Child Exploitation Investigation Team, the Major Crimes Investigation Division of Boucherville, the Montreal Police Service, the Quebec City Police Service, the Laval Police Service, the Loungueuil Agglomeration Police Service, and the Gatineau Police Service.

The police said that of those charged, 20 have appeared in court to face charges of possession, distribution, and access to files that contained child sexual abuse and exploitation material.

Police also said they seized computer equipment for analysis during 26 searches.

Lieutenant Katherine Guimond, head of the division investigating the sexual exploitation of children on the internet, said the operation involved “significant collaborative work and coordination.”

“This joint approach by the various police forces strengthens efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of children on the internet,” said Guimond.

Police have encouraged anyone with information about online sexual exploitation of children to report it at www.cyberaide.ca

The arrests come about eight months after Quebec police were involved in a similar operation that resulted in 100 people across Canada being charged in a nationwide operation targeting child exploitation.

The operation, dubbed Project Steel, involved 63 police services and more than 300 charges. There were dozens of child victims, according to RCMP Insp. Matthieu Girard.

Girard told reporters at a March 5 news conference that investigations were continuing across the country.

The operation was coordinated by the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre, the Ontario Provincial Police, and Sûreté du Québec.

A recent Statistics Canada report said there were about 262 incidents of child exploitation per 100,000 children in 2023.

It said that online child pornography accounted for 87 percent of online child exploitation incidents that year.

The report noted that of all child sexual exploitation incidents reported by police between 2014 and 2021, 92 percent did not result in a completed court case by 2023. It notes that most incidents “did not make it past the police clearance stage” with 77 percent of incidents reported to police not solved.

StatCan said that once the matter is in court, 72 percent of cases result in a guilty decision.