Hamilton paramedic among 122 charged in child pornography investigations

The Ontario Provincial Police says the staggering number of child exploitation charges laid in just one month shows the prevalence of the issue in Ontario.

During a news conference in Vaughan, OPP along with 26 regional partners said police have laid 551 charges against 122 people in the month of November alone.

The charges are a result of the work done by the Internet Child Exploitation Investigators that make up the Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet.

Among those charges are current and former teachers, military members, and emergency services personnel including a Hamilton paramedic.

Fifty-year-old Frank Hampson, of Welland, was arrested by Niagara police and charged with possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography.

Hamilton Paramedic Service Chief Michael Sanderson says they are aware of the charges against Hampson and say he is “not actively at work at this time.”

OPP say 11 youth who cannot be identified under terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act were also arrested and charged.

Investigators discovered 834 unique IP addresses accessing child pornography in the month of November alone. Police describe those numbers as the “tip of the iceberg” in relation to online child sexual exploitation in Ontario.

“The investigators of the Provincial Strategy and our partners work tirelessly in one of the most difficult jobs in policing to bring those who would harm our children to justice. We know from experience that working together will allow us to most effectively combat the internet sexual exploitation of children,” says Inspector Tina CHALK, OPP Counter Exploitation and Missing Persons Section.

Police say anyone who accesses child pornography online is complicit in the abuse.

“Perpetrators of online sexual exploitation often minimize their actions by saying they were ‘just looking.’ Let me be clear: Anyone who possesses, distributes, accesses or otherwise supports the supply and demand chain for child sexual abuse images are complicit in the sexual exploitation of children,” said Staff Sergeant Sharon Hanlon, Coordinator of the Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet.