Vancouver Police say a Vancouver man was sentenced this week after an investigation into child pornography.
On Monday, 68-year-old John Penry Roberts pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of child pornography in provincial court.
Robers will serve 14 months in prison.
“This was a disturbing investigation for detectives,” says Constable Tania Visintin, VPD.
“Investigators with the VPD’s Internet Child Exploitation Unit had to sift through more than 1.9 million images and video and, as a result, identified more than 20,000 images and 4,000 videos as child pornography.”
In a release, VPD say that Roberts was first identified in an online child pornography sharing investigation in 2017. A search warrant was executed in July 2018 at a Vancouver residence where he had lived for over two decades. Multiple electronic devices were seized at the residence. The residence was located within one block of an elementary school, a daycare centre and a park.
In June, Surrey RCMP warned parents and guardians to take measures to protect their children from online predators as the city has seen a staggering growth in the number of child pornography related reports.
Over the past three years, the Surrey RCMP Special Victims Unit reports a staggering increase in the number of child pornography related reports rising from 55 reports in 2017, to 122 reports in 2019.
Sexual predators use a process called grooming to form a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them. Groomers may also build a relationship with the young person's family or friends to make them seem trustworthy or authoritative.
Internet safety can be an overwhelming topic for many parents. However, it’s so important to not only start the conversation but keep it going. Not sure how? Check out ProtectKidsOnline.ca. You can also keep up with the latest online trends among youth by signing up for Cybertip alerts.
Police are reminding the public to call 9-1-1 to report any suspicious activity.
