Two men arrested in Gatineau for sexually exploiting children on the Internet

Djeneba Dosso

An operation being conducted by Sûreté du Québec’s Internet Child Sexual Exploitation Investigation Team is cracking down on sexual crimes targeting children online. The task force, made up of members of the Gatineau, Montreal, Québec, Laval and Longueil police departments, carried out two searches in the first weeks of November leading to two men’s arrests in Gatineau.

The first search took place on the morning of November 5, on d’Orléans Street located in the Lac-Beauchamp sector. An unnamed 43-year-old man from Gatineau in possession of child pornography was arrested and transported to the police station where he was met by investigators and later released by summons. A police-issued press release dated November 8 details that in addition to the charges of child pornography, a charge of obstruction of police work was submitted to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions.

The second search was carried out just two days later, on November 7, on Madore Street in the city’s Bellevue district. Pierre Bontemps, 62, from Gatineau was arrested and transported to the police station. He appeared before the Court of Quebec on the same day to face a charge for possession of child pornography and another for having accessed child pornography.

The Gatineau police expressed its commitment to continue “its fight against the sexual exploitation of children on the Internet by participating in the Investigation Team on the Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Internet of the Sûreté du Québec,” in collaboration with Montreal, Québec, Laval and Longueil Police Services.

Police inform investigations for these cases are ongoing and urges anyone who has information about situations of sexual exploitation of young people to make a report at www.cyberaide.ca.