Three young children under six years old have been removed from their homes in southern Manitoba after an investigation by RCMP that has led to child porn charges for four men.
Members of the RCMP’s internet child exploitation unit (ICE) raided five homes between March 18 and 25, and police say they located thousands of images of child pornography in the searches.
“This is four arrests and three children removed from traumatic situations in a span of only 10 days. I wish I could say that this is a success, and it absolutely is in terms of getting these kids to safety, but it is really a drop in the bucket when it comes to the material we seized,” RCMP Cpl. Gord Olson said Wednesday.
“I know people will be surprised at how much child sexual abuse and exploitation material we encountered, but the truth is, this problem is prolific. It is in every community, and so many children are affected by it.”
The men, who range in age from 37 to 56, are facing charges of distributing, uploading and possessing child porn. One is also charged with making child pornography.
Mounties said they won’t identify any individuals or communities to protect the identity of the victims, but three communities in southern Manitoba were involved.