13 men arraigned in Montreal on charges of child pornography

MONTREAL – Thirteen men who allegedly exchanged tips on ways to sexually abuse children were arraigned in Montreal on Thursday on a variety of juvenile-pornography charges.

The Crown opposed their release and bail hearings were set for Feb. 2.

Arrest warrants have been issued for two other men.

The charges include possession and distribution of child pornography and relate to incidents that allegedly took place between Jan. 1, 2003, and Wednesday, when all 13 were arrested.

The accused are aged between 27 and 74.

When the 13 were caught, Quebec provincial police said Toronto police had been involved in a raid in that city.

On Thursday, 12 were identified as having Quebec-based addresses, while that of the 13th was not known.

Quebec police said they did not know what had become of the Toronto angle.

The 13 were nabbed after a three-year investigation by Quebec provincial police and the RCMP.

Authorities allege the men used online discussion forums to exchange information about their sexual experiences with children and to talk about what tactics to use and where to go to sexually abuse them.

Crown prosecutor Cynthia Gyenizse told reporters outside the courtroom she wanted them detained “because of the nature of the accusations.”

“In light of (Wednesday’s) arrests, we’ll see if any of them can be released under strict conditions,” Gyenizse said, referring to next week’s bail hearings. “But for some we will certainly continue to oppose their release.”