West Shore RCMP say child pornography investigations on the rise

Mounties say child pornography investigations are on the rise in the western communities of Greater Victoria.
The West Shore RCMP conducted 39 child pornography investigations in 2022, doubling the 19 cases investigated in 2021.
The detachment highlighted the work of its serious crimes unit in a news release Monday, noting six recent convictions for possession of child pornography, child luring and sexual assault.
A 33-year-old man was convicted last month of possession of child pornography and sentenced to a seven-month conditional sentence and 18 months of probation, according to the Mounties, who said the investigation took approximately eight months to complete.
In January, a year-long investigation culminated in an 18-year prison sentence for another man who was convicted of sexual assault, invitation to sexual touching and production of child pornography.
"Though the number of these investigations appears to be increasing year over year, the unit takes some comfort in these recent convictions," Sgt. Thana Hodge of the West Shore RCMP serious crime unit said.
The Langford-based detachment says child pornography investigations often take several months or years to complete due to their complexity.
Such cases are resource-intensive, relying heavily on search warrants, production orders, surveillance and technical data analysis, the department said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poor air quality, evacuations in multiple provinces due to wildfires
Wildfire smoke prompted warnings about poor air quality for many regions across the country, stretching from northern Alberta to the Atlantic.

Poilievre threatens to filibuster budget bill if Liberals don't meet demands
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is threatening to use procedural tools to delay passage of the federal budget in the House of Commons if the Liberals don't meet his demands.
Conservatives call on feds to see killer Bernardo returned to maximum-security prison
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he understands how 'shocked and appalled' Canadians are at the decision by the Correctional Service of Canada to transfer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison.
EXCLUSIVE | Feds providing $1.5M for increased security at Pride events across Canada
The federal government will be providing $1.5 million to Pride organizations across the country for increased security measures at parades and other events this year, CTV News has learned.
Prince Harry a no-show on first day of court showdown with British tabloid publisher
Prince Harry's phone hacking trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror kicked off Monday without him present -- and the judge was not happy.
Flair tops Canadian airlines with average number of complaints per 100 flights: CTA
The Canadian Transportation Agency says Flair Airlines Ltd. has the highest number of complaints per 100 flights of all the major airlines in Canada, as airlines have had a rocky recovery year with delayed and cancelled flights.
WATCH | Safety campaign shows falls, close calls involving kids in train stations
Australia's transit society Queensland Rail is using CCTV video of real-life falls and near-miss involving children at train stations in a new safety campaign.
Anand: China irresponsible over Taiwan Strait collision risk with Canada, U.S. ships
Defence Minister Anita Anand says Beijing acted irresponsibly on the weekend in the Taiwan Strait, where Washington says a Chinese warship forced a U.S. vessel to avoid a collision near a Canadian frigate.
WATCH LIVE | Wildfire risk remains well above average across Canada this month
An area of land 11 times bigger than the city of Toronto burned from wildfires in the past four days -- Canada's worst spring wildfire season to date.