27 Catholics arrested in Quebec as Child-porn ring smashed
Pastor Dale Morgan
27 Catholics arrested in Quebec as Child-porn ring smashed *
Global News Canada
MONTREAL -- Twenty-seven Catholic men from various parts of the province
face child pornography charges after police discovered a group were
secretly using a website based in Germany to exchange computer files.
The Surete du Quebec, the provincial police force, began investigating
the group in 2006.
"It started in Germany when the owner of an Internet site became aware
that people were using his Internet service to exchange child
pornography," said Sgt. Joyce Kemp.
The Web site hosted a series of free forum groups and the owner alerted
the police after discovering people in one forum group were using it to
exchange child pornography files.
The information was passed on to the National Child Exploitation
Co-ordination Centre, a federal organization based in Ontario and
comprised of police investigators and civilians. It, in turn, gave
information to the Quebec police force, and its computer crimes division
launched Operation Penalty.
After nearly two years the Surete began making arrests late in May. Many
of those charged are from the Montreal area. Arrests were also made in
Quebec City, Joliette, Chicoutimi and Gatineau.
"In general, or in most cases, the people are charged with accessing
child pornography and possessing it," Sgt. Kemp said.
The men charged range from teenagers to senior citizens. The youngest,
Herve Rouleau Turcotte, of St. Lambert, is 19. He was charged in
Longueuil court with possessing and producing child pornography.
Turcotte was released on bail after his arrest on May 20 and returns to
court next week.
The oldest, Real Duchesne, of Longueuil, 68, was charged with possessing
child pornography. His case also returns to court next week.
Another man, a 35-year-old St. Jean sur Richelieu resident who was
arrested on May 21, was charged with sexual interference as well as
producing child pornography.
Sgt. Kemp said more charges might be filed in the future. Computers that
were seized while the police executed 29 search warrants are still being
analyzed for evidence.
Kemp was unable to say whether the men had anything in common or why
Quebec residents would use an Internet site in Germany as a place to
exchange child pornography. She was also not aware if arrests connected
to the German site were made elsewhere.
"What I can say is the person who hosted the site wanted nothing to do
with them," she said. "The person immediately alerted the authorities
when they learned what it was being used for."