Toronto child porn investigation led to charges against Saint John city councillor

A child exploitation case that struck at the heart of Canadian society was delayed on Monday after a former Saint John city councillor requested an adjournment in a trial into whether he sexually touched three children and distributed child pornography online.

Donnie Snook was expected to enter a plea on Monday until the case was put over for two months at the request of his lawyer. Dennis Boyle told CBC News that police needed more time to provide them with their evidence.

It is the latest chapter in a months-long legal case that followed nearly two years of investigation on behalf of the RCMP, Saint John police and Toronto police’s child exploitation unit.

[ Related: Donnie Snook plea on sex-related charges held over ]

The Toronto Star posted an interesting story on tracking online predators over the weekend. In the piece, Toronto Det. Paul Krawczyk outlined the years-long investigation that resulted in Snook facing eight child exploitation charges.

According to the Star, an undercover Krawczyk first engaged a suspect in an online chatroom in March 2011, and was told by the anonymous visitor that he had access to children with which he performed sexual acts.

After several more chats with the suspect, Krawczyk was able to link to an IP address in the New Brunswick city, which eventually led local police to making an arrest.

[ More Brew: Has Tom Flanagan hate gone too far in child porn comment? ]

It is a difficult job, engaging with child predators online. But Krawczyk says someone has to do it, and it is a duty that has saved a lot of children from harm.

Krawczyk told the Star:

According to Cybertip.ca, a tip line run by the RCMP's Canadian Centre for Child Protection, they found more than 15,000 websites hosting child pornography in 2009.

Those sites contained some 4,100 unique images, and 82.1 per cent of those images depicted pre-pubescent children. Over 35 per cent of those photos showed serious sexual assault.

This is not an issue that leaks into Canada from overseas. Canada hosts the second-largest collection of child sexual abuse images and the second-most commercial websites.

Snook, 41, was a two-term member of Saint John city council and had been praised for his commitment to the community.

He was previously the director of the Saint John Inner City Youth Ministry and, court documents suggest, had been a foster parent for 25 years, although it is unknown how many children he has served.

None of the charges have been proven or tested in court. Snook’s delayed plea is now expected to be entered on May 29. It is not Canada’s only ongoing child exploitation case, but it has perhaps the highest profile.

Many eyes will be watching to see what comes from the trial.