A months-long investigation by St. Thomas police resulted in a 58-year-old man being charged with one count of possession of child pornography Tuesday night, police said.
The man, who is alleged to have been using free Wi-Fi from motels in southwestern Ontario to download images of child sexual abuse, was arrested during a traffic stop on Talbot Street, police said.
According to St. Thomas police, the investigation involved its Internet Child Exploitation Unit and multiple other police jurisdictions.
No further details were given about the other jurisdictions involved and whether the man accused in the case is a St. Thomas resident.
The man, whose identity was not released, was later released on an undertaking with court date, police said.
Reports of child sexual abuse imagery have risen dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.
The organization says its online tipline, Cybertip.ca, saw an 81 per cent spike in public reports of online child exploitation in the spring of 2020.