St. Catharines man facing 3 child pornography charges

A 20-year-old St. Catharines man is in custody and faces three criminal charges that are related to what police say was a two-month child pornography investigation.

In a statement on Thursday night (May 12), Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) said that its ICE unit (Internet Child Exploitation) opened an investigation into the online sexual exploitation of a child in March.

“The individual under investigation was accessing child sexual exploitation material on the internet and then sharing it on a popular social media platform,” NRPS says.

On Thursday, 20-year-old Jithin George of St. Catharines was arrested and charged with the three alleged offences:

• One count of making child pornography available, contrary to section 163.1(3) of the Criminal Code of Canada;
• One count of possession of child pornography, contrary to section 163.1(4);
• One count of accessing child pornography, contrary to section 163.1(4.1).

The accused was held for a bail hearing in a St. Catharines court, which was conducted by video.

The NRPS belongs to the the Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet and conducts investigations into ICE offences in partnership with numerous fellow Ontario police services.

This investigative initiative is funded through a grant from the Ministry of the Solicitor General.

Residents can report suspicious Internet activities relating to child exploitation to the NRPS, or online at cybertip.ca. Internet safety tips for parents, children and Internet users are also available on cybertip.ca.