Six young men are facing child pornography charges in relation to a 13-month-long investigation into the distribution of intimate images at a school in Bridgewater, N.S.
Four 15 year olds and two 18 year olds — all Bridgewater Jr./Sr. High School students — have been arrested and charged with possession and distribution of child pornography as well as the distribution of intimate images without consent.
READ MORE: Still no charges in case of ‘questionable images’ shared by students at Bridgewater school
The investigation was launched after the questionable images were found on electronic devices of students at the school in May 2015.
“This activity was not necessarily taking place at the school,” said Bridgewater police chief John Collyer. “This was happening outside school hours.”
More than 20 females youth were identified as having their intimate images shared throughout the course of the investigation. Most of the girls are also students at the school.
Some of the potential victims still have not been identified, chief Collyer said.
Bridgewater Police Service seized cell phones and other devices from students and sought assistance from U.S. law enforcement under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
The teens have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear in Bridgewater youth court on Aug. 17.
These case is one of the first that involves the federal anti-cyberbullying legislation, which became law in March of 2015.
The law was introduced in 2013 after the death of Rehtaeh Parsons, who took her own life earlier that year.
Nova Scotia’s supreme court recently struck down a provincial Cyber-Safety Act, justice minister Diana Whalen has said the province will replace the legislation.
Nova Scotia was the first jurisdiction in the country to pass a cyberbullying law. It did that in June 2013.
With files from The Canadian Press.