Sudbury police take unique approach to child-porn scourge

The Greater Sudbury Police Service has undertaken a unique approach to dealing with the scourge of child pornography: offering offenders tracked through their internet usage a chance to seek counselling.

In a news release issued Friday, police outlined the evolution of the program, which began in 2014 with the Community Internet Child Exploitation Project (CICS). Its goal was to identify individuals in the community downloading child pornography.

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While enforcement was a focus of CICS, individuals were referred to the appropriate community partners to help reduce harm, provide support and prevent further victimization, the release says, adding the expertise of community partners was essential to its success.

The program itself is in it's infancy stages so it's only going to grow from here.- Det.-Sgt. Blair Ramsay, Great Sudbury Police Service

In partnership with community agencies, Sudbury police initiated the Community Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Project in 2015, which provides access to counselling for perpetrators as well as victims of internet child exploitation.

The John Howard Society in Sudbury also initiated a new specialized sexual offender management program, which will be the main referral location for individuals who have downloaded child pornography, the release said. The program will also allow those seeking help to self-report and access services before physically offending against a child, the release said.

"The program itself is in it's infancy stages so it's only going to grow from here," Sudbury police Det.-Sgt. Blair Ramsay told CBC News.

"We wanted the John Howard Society involved to be able to implement this program and keep it going afterwards. So it's not just something we're going to shut the door on on March the 15 or May the 15. It's something that's going to be going on for years to come."

Enforcement phase

In March 2015, the enforcement phase of CICS began. From March through May, officers compiled a list of high-risk targets in the community, the release says.

Offenders were identified through the use of a system developed to establish the potential threat posed by local people suspected of downloading child pornography through their internet protocol (IP) addresses.

The result:

• Thirty search warrants executed from March to June.
• Fourteen arrests leading to 67 charges.
• Twenty-eight cases referred to other jurisdictions.
• Four victims identified.
• Thirty-two local investigations still underway.