Toronto child porn case triggers scandal in Britain

Det.-Const. Lisa Belanger addresses media in November 2013 as police officers from around the world
gather to announce the end of a three-year child porn investigation called Project Spade.

After Toronto police provided British police authorities with the names of thousands of men there who allegedly purchased child pornography from a Toronto website in 2012, the information sat for a year before being investigated.

That delay is now triggering a scandal in the British press, where police officials are under fire for failing to act swiftly to arrest potential predators swept up in an international child pornography investigation led by Toronto police.

“I’m sorry if that’s led to harm to children or exposing them to risk because that’s not what we stand for,” Keith Bristow, head of Britian’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre told MPs this week.

Toronto police sent the British authorities the names of about 2,000 men in July 2012 as part of a sweeping investigation spanning 90 countries — the biggest it has ever undertaken — called Project Spade.

That information was not handed to local police forces for investigation until November 2013, British media outlets are reporting.

The BBC says only about a third of those named have faced arrest and just 6 per cent have been charged, “including teachers and nursery workers.”  (more...)

Toronto child porn case triggers scandal in Britain