The Ontario Provincial Police have announced the arrests of 35 people across the province in connection with child pornography offences.
In addition, two children exploited in the making of child pornography have been rescued. One of the children lives in Ontario and the other lives outside Canada.
The accused individuals face a total of 122 charges laid after 44 search warrants were executed. Five of those arrested are under the age of 18, a news conference heard Wednesday.
The offenders are from Thunder Bay in the northwest all the way south and east to Ottawa. Seven are GTA residents.
The charges range from possession to the making and distribution of child pornography. CTV Toronto's Galit Solomon reported that one individual was allegedly in possession of six million images of child pornography.
Some charges of sexual assault have also been laid, along with various drug and prohibited weapons possession offences.
While the OPP was the lead agency, 18 municipal police forces also took part in the investigation.
"This is a crime that to me, is one of the most heinous that one person can commit against another," OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino said.
"The feeling overwhelms you," he told CTV Toronto. "You feel like you're digging a hole in the desert and it just never ends this particular type of abuse from happening."
The virtual nature of the Internet makes this crime virtually impossible to eradicate, but police will keep fighting, Fantino said.
"Since August 2006 to March 1, 2010, there have been 8,260 investigations completed by the Provincial Strategy partners and OPP Child Sexual Exploitation Section. During that time, 3,394 charges have been laid against 1,130 people in the province of Ontario," the OPP said in a news release.
Fantino also had a harsh word for what he saw as low maximum sentences for the crime.
"What's worse … is the way our justice system treats these individuals who are convicted of these crimes," he said.
The maximum sentence of 10 years for the making and distribution of child pornography isn't adequate "for what is such a brutal crime," Fantino said.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Galit Solomon
