Winnipeg man faces child porn charges following international police probe

A Winnipeg man faces several child pornography charges after a months-long police investigation that began in Switzerland uncovered images of young children being abused.

The 36-year-old man has been charged with possessing and accessing child pornography, as well as importing, distributing or selling it. As well, he faces one charge of bestiality.

Winnipeg police Const. Jason Michalyshen said the man was arrested on Thursday morning, over a month after police executed a search warrant at a home on Renfrew Street in the River Heights neighbourhood.

Several electronic devices that were seized from the home contained numerous child pornography videos and images depicting children between the ages of two and 12, Michalyshen said.

"We might be talking about images and videos, and maybe the individuals involved in these videos have not been identified, but we're talking about true victims here," he told reporters on Friday.

"Very, very sad situation when we are acknowledging the abuse of a two year-old and up to a 12-year-old performing sexual acts with one another, with adults. It's absolutely disgusting."

Investigators also found videos that supportthebestiality charge, Michalyshen said.

Michalyshen said Winnipeg police began investigating after undercover police investigators in Zurich and Aargau, Switzerland, contacted them in late January or early February.

The Swiss investigation had determined that someone using an internet protocol (IP) address in the Manitoba capital was possessing child pornography files and making them available to other users, police said.

Officers with the Winnipeg Police Service's Internet Child Exploitation Unit continued investigating and executed the search warrant at the Renfrew Street home on March 22.

Michalyshen said the investigation highlights the collaboration between police agencies around the world.

"When we have individuals essentially hiding behind computers, thinking they're invincible, thinking that they won't get caught, I can assure you that the work, being done by the Winnipeg Police Service and agencies in Switzerland and around the world take these matters very, very seriously," he said.