Over a one week period, St. Thomas police arrested three men in connection with three separate child pornography investigations.
The investigations began early last month after police received alerts from the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre about alleged online child pornography offences taking place in the area.
As a result, investigators ended up raiding three homes over three days late last week - two in St. Thomas and one in Elgin County. Electronic devices were seized by police.
Dylan Giles, 24, of St. Thomas was arrested without incident last Wednesday. He is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.
A second St. Thomas man, 35-year-old Ahmed El Tawil, was arrested without incident last Thursday. He is charged with one count of possession of child pornography.
A 53-year-old Elgin County man, who cannot be named due to a publication ban, was arrested Friday during a traffic stop. He is charged with four counts of breaching recognizance and one count of possession of child pornography.
The man had previously been charged with voyeurism, possession, distribution, and production of child pornography, and luring a child under the age of 18 in relation to an incident in 2017. He was under a court-ordered 24-hour curfew inside his home and was not to posses any weapons or devices capable of accessing the internet, police said. He has now been remanded into custody.
