Close to a dozen arrested in Quebec child porn bust

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) announced Thursday that 11 men had been arrested on suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography.

The sting, launched three days ago, led to arrests in several regions across the province, including Québec City, Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, Mont-Tremblant, Val-Morin, Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Saint-Césaire, Donnacomma, Matane and Granby.

READ MORE: 6 Quebec students aged 12 to 14 arrested for alleged child porn offences

SQ spokesperson Stéphane Tremblay specified that the individuals were not part of a ring.

“There’s no link between those people,” he said. “They’re from several parts of the province of Quebec.”

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The following men have appeared in court where they were charged with various offences:

• André Vaillancourt, 44, from Saint-Georges was charged with access to, possession and distribution of child pornography
• Claude Bouchard, 44, from Saint-Césaire was charged with access to, possession and distribution of child pornography
• Dominic Soucy, 41, from Matane was charged with access to, possession and distribution of child pornography
• Réjean Simoneau, 66 from Donnaconna was charged with access to, possession and distribution of child pornography
• Benoît Émond, 42, from Val-Morin was charged with access to, possession, distribution and production of child pornography
• Martin Leduc, 50, from Granby was charged with  access to, possession, distribution and production of child pornography
• Stéphane Chartrand, 47, from Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography
• Michael Cantin-Fradet, 35, from Quebec City was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography

READ MORE: U.S. gymnastic team sports coach gets 60-year prison sentence for child porn

Three of those arrested are expected to appear in court in the near future where they could be charged with similar offences.

In an operation shared with the RCMP, Quebec City and Mont-Tremblant police, Tremblay said several computers had been seized for analysis.

Since 2012, the SQ has made more than 500 arrests related to child pornography allowing them to identify hundreds of victims.