WATCH: Toronto Police Det./Const. Janelle Blackadar says she finds perpetrators of abuse are increasingly using live streaming chat rooms as a means of distributing child pornography. pic.twitter.com/fSW5yApckk
— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) April 12, 2018
Toronto police say more than a dozen Canadians have been either arrested or convicted as part of a three-year international investigation into child sexual abuse.
They say they worked alongside forces across Canada, the United States and United Kingdom after receiving reports that children were allegedly being sexually abused while others watched in real-time around the world.
They say the alleged victims were as young as 10 months old, and one incident involved a suspect allegedly drugging a child and committing offences via livestream.
The investigation, dubbed Project Mercury, ultimately led to more than 150 arrests around the world.
Canadians in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta were charged with a total of 51 offences.
Police say more than a dozen children have been recovered and moved to safety as a result of the investigation.