Mark Gary Bedford, 21, is accused of duping girls in Canada and Britain into
thinking they were chatting to friends before encouraging them to remove their
clothes or perform sex acts over a webcam.
Police in Toronto say the girls, aged from nine to 15, were threatened with
rape, bodily harm and death if they failed to co-operate.
It is also claimed he threatened to post their images on websites or show them
to family members.
Ontario Police Detective Sergeant Frank Goldschmidt said the alleged victims
included some from Kent. It is understood British authorities became involved
after a concerned parent contacted Kent Police in April.
On Wednesday three officers from Kent Police worked with Canadian colleagues to
execute a search warrant in Glengarry Road, Kingston, Ontario.
Yesterday a Kent Police spokeswoman said a computer system, floppy discs, CDs
and other items were seized during a search there.
Bedford was arrested and charged with two counts of luring a child by means of
a computer, two of possessing child pornography and three of making child
pornography. He was also charged with two counts of distributing child
pornography and three of extortion.
The nine-month investigation could lead to additional charges, police said.
Police allege he operated under the names Marco1812000 and Supalover666 and
would hack into his victims' e-mail accounts to access their buddy lists.
Goldschmidt said: "I have never seen this many victims involved and I'm safe to
say that at this point and time in this early stage of this investigation we're
looking at well in excess of 100."
Police said Bedford was unemployed, living at home with his parents, and spent
a lot of time on the internet.
Goldschmidt added: "It just seems that some of the kids that are involved in
this type of activity these days really don't feel like they're doing anything
wrong because they're in the comfort of their own home.
"It amazes me to this day that parents allow their children to be locked up in
their bedrooms with state-of-the-art computer equipment and then they get
involved in this type of activity."
Bedford's father, Gary, was said to be "totally devastated" by the case. "We
were totally blindsided. We had no idea what was going on," he told the Calgary
Sun newspaper.
"Everybody is totally devastated to the point I've never felt lower in my
life."
Police say the evidence points to Bedford having worked alone, rather than as
part of a network. He was remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear in
Ontario Court of Justice tomorrow.
Chris Cloke, head of child protection awareness at the National Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children, said yesterday: "The internet has opened
doors for billions of people across the world. Unfortunately this means there
will be many paedophiles prowling the net.
"It is vital that children and their parents understand and are alert to this
risk. Stranger danger rules apply to the net too."
