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SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN
Highlights
A national coordinated law enforcement strategy against the sexual
exploitation of children has been in place since 1998. Police and law enforcement
have been concentrating efforts on child pornography and the Internet,
child prostitution and sex tourism (Canadians exploiting children in another
country).
In May 1997, Bill C-27, known as the Canadian child sex tourism legislation, amended section 7 of the Criminal Code to extend the jurisdiction of Canadian courts to acts of sexual exploitation committed by Canadians against children outside Canada. The legislation seeks to deter Canadians from engaging in the sexual exploitation of children in foreign countries, to encourage other countries to enforce their own laws to combat child sexual offenses and to provide a means of prosecuting Canadians who have committed child sex offenses in other countries but have avoided prosecution in that country. Canada is one of 24 countries which now have extraterritorial legislation in place to combat sex tourism and other forms of sexual exploitation of children.
The distribution of child pornography is growing proportionately with the continuing expansion of Internet use. Chat rooms available throughout the Internet global community further facilitate and compound this problem. The use of the Internet has helped pornographers to present and promote their point of view.
International investigations of child pornography are coordinated through Interpol Ottawa. In 1999, a total of 164 requests for assistance were received, including 101 from international law enforcement agencies. With the proliferation of Internet users and sites and chat rooms devoted to child pornography, the number of investigations will likely continue to increase. From January to June 2000, 89 cases were received and forwarded to Canadian jurisdictions, including 78 from international law enforcement agencies.
In 1999, Criminal Intelligence Service Canada, the lead agency for the coordinated effort against the sexual exploitation of children in Canada, collected information through an inter-agency assessment survey regarding child prostitution in Canada. Based on recommendations made by partner agencies, the main concerns in this area are education, communication and the sharing of information among enforcement and support agencies.
In Western Canada, criminals and organized gangs involved in the sexual exploitation of children are often also involved in the drug trade and in trafficking firearms. The prostitution of young females is often a secondary part of their overall business. There is a high demand for child pornography and consequently no decline in this criminal activity.
In at least one of the Western provinces, the issue of the sexual exploitation of children has moved to a second phase in dealing with child prostitution. In February 1999, Bill 1 - the Protection of Children in Prostitution Act - became law in Alberta. The bill allows social workers and police to apprehend child prostitutes under the age of 18 and to place them in a protective safe house for up to 72 hours. Maximum fines and jail terms were also increased for johns and pimps who use juvenile prostitutes. (Note: at the end of July 2000, an Alberta family court judge ruled that the Protection of Children in Prostitution Act is unconstitutional and in violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms).
In March 1999, a Western police service completed a nine month “sex for drugs” investigation. The accused individuals allegedly coerced the victims to use crack cocaine. They would only continue the supply of drugs to their hooked victims in return for sexual favors. The operation resulted in the arrest of 13 adult males. The victims were females ranging in age from 13 to 17 years. The accused in this investigation have been charged with a number of offenses, including trafficking in a controlled substance, juvenile prostitution, sexual assault and keeping a common bawdy house.
In Central and Eastern Canada, various police services have been successful in their investigations of sexual exploitation of children. A number of provincial and municipal police forces, federal departments and US and international agencies worked in partnership to assist in investigations.
In the first six months of 2000, a Central Canadian police pornography unit investigated 100 incidents and laid 92 charges, compared to 52 investigations and 55 charges for the same time period in 1999. Another police force handled 116 files relating to child pornography on the Internet in 1999. Investigations have resulted in 13 searches and arrests so far. Thirty-two web sites and 75 individuals were subject to investigation resulting in charges against 20 individuals to date, from over 118 child sexual exploitation files investigated by one police force in Central Canada in 1999.
Police and law enforcement in the Eastern provinces continue to witness a rise in incidents of child sexual exploitation. In early 1999, a 33-year-old male received an 18 month sentence for dealing in child pornography over the Internet. The interdiction of child pornography being transmitted via conventional methods has decreased dramatically. At least four significant Internet investigations involving the possession and distribution of child pornography were submitted for prosecution.
Generally, the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography and prostitution remains an area of criminal activity that is largely undetected or not reported.
Outlook