Five individuals have been charged following the conclusion of Ontario Provincial Police investigations on an Ontario-based supplier of child pornography that produced millions of images and videos.
Five individuals have been charged following the conclusion of Ontario Provincial Police investigations on an Ontario-based supplier of child pornography that produced millions of images and videos.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique and Det. Insp. David MacDonald announced the charges at a news conference. They were joined by representatives from the Toronto Police Service and the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations.
"I'm proud of the leadership being demonstrated to address the webhosts and administrators who — in Canada — have a legal duty and a responsibility to respond when they are made aware that illegal content is being trafficked through their infrastructure,” said Carrique. “Not only have police reduced the number of 'customers' who abuse children online, we've removed the platform that held their monstrous content.”
In October 2012, a complaint to the Toronto Police Service led to the launch of Project Greenwell, a complex, multi-national criminal investigation that first looked at those who uploaded and downloaded images and video files to what could be called a "big box store" of child pornography, with users in at least 116 different countries, a statement from the police said.
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The servers were traced to a business in Toronto known as YesUp Media. A subsequent investigation, known as Project Blackheath, targeted the operators of the business who knowingly facilitated the sharing of these images for profit. It revealed that there were 60,000 registered users in at least 116 different countries, and at least 19,013 users purchased 30-day premium memberships.
As a result of the investigations, five people have been charged with the following offences:
• Zhen He (Patrick) Zeng, 40, of Richmond Hill: Make Available Child Pornography (s. 163.1 (3) of the Criminal Code); Possession of Child Pornography (s. 163.1 (4) of the Criminal Code); Duty to Report to Police per s. 3 of An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service.
• Zhen Yu (Jeff) Zeng, 42, of Richmond Hill: Duty to Report to Police per s 3 of An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service.
• Chin Choi (Peter) Kok, 32, of Richmond Hill: Make Available Child Pornography (s. 163.1 (3) of the Criminal Code); Possession of Child Pornography (s. 163.1 (4) of the Criminal Code); Duty to Report to Police per s, 3 of An Act respecting the mandatory reporting of Internet child pornography by persons who provide an Internet service.
• Sui Hua (Jeff) Ye, 47, of Aurora: Make Available Child Pornography (s. 163.1 (3) of the Criminal Code); Possession of Child Pornography (s. 163.1 (4) of the Criminal Code).
• Wen (Larry) Li, 31, of Toronto: Make Available Child Pornography (s. 163.1 (3) of the Criminal Code); Possession of Child Pornography (s. 163.1 (4) of the Criminal Code).
The five accused are scheduled to appear at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Aug. 1. According to the OPP, they have been released with undertakings from the court, including surrendering their passports, remaining within the province of Ontario and prohibitions from engaging in a business or enterprise with any party that has been the subject of a complaint with respect to child pornography.