A Saanich man was arrested last week as part of the RCMP’s Operation Snapshot III, which saw five children rescued from harm and more than 150 people arrested or under investigation across the country.
Sgt. Steve Eassie says Saanich police investigators executed a search warrant on June 12, and seized more than 1,000 DVDs, multiple computers and multiple hard drives from a home. One man was arrested and interviewed, and was later released on conditions.
“The investigation is ongoing, but we expect to forward charges of accessing child pornography, possessing child pornography and making child pornography available to other people,” Eassie said.
Operation Snapshot III targeted sex offenders who make and share child sexual exploitation material online, reads a release from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre, which co-ordinated the investigation that involved multiple municipal, provincial and federal detachments across Canada.
“For every person arrested and prosecuted, dozens of potential future victims are saved from harm,” said RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson. “Over the past three years, Snapshot has built on the dedication, partnership and collaborative efforts of police agencies, sending a message to would-be abusers that we will not be deterred from protecting children.”
Eassie said he’s not aware of any children from Greater Victoria who were rescued as part of this operation, but said two of the five were from B.C.
The next step, Eassie said, is conducting forensic examinations of the materials seized in the execution of the search warrant. Charges will then be forwarded to Crown counsel.
The individual arrested was released on strict conditions and is scheduled to appear in court in mid-August.
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