Troubling amount of child porn being shared on online in B.C.: study

VANCOUVER – A new study has revealed a disturbing amount of child pornography is being distributed online in British Columbia.

A Stats Canada crime report released Wednesday shows more than 1,200 individual cases of sexual-abuse images were exchanged over the Internet over a six-month period last year.

The police unit that investigates child exploitation in B.C. says this project was the first of its kind in the province and establishes a baseline.

Investigators say it's impossible to know at this point whether the issue is getting better or worse.

RCMP spokesman Ed Boettcher says a single case of child victimization is too many and that more than a thousand over that time is tragic.

He says police would ensure those responsible are held to account.