May 30, 2008 - Toronto – The Supreme Court of
Canada has strongly endorsed the rights of children to be free from Internet
child abuse in a ruling released today. By a majority of 8-1 the Court held that a man who abused his daughter
and her friend, recorded images of the abuse for distribution over the
Internet, and possessed a large child abuse image collection, should receive a
sentence of fifteen years and thereafter
be supervised for ten years as a Long Term Offender.

The Supreme Court overturned the ruling of the Quebec Court
of Appeal which had reduced the sentence to nine years. The Supreme Court restored the original
sentence imposed by the trial judge.

Paul Gillespie, CEO of KINSA, the Kids’ Internet Safety
Alliance, said, “this case acknowledges the voices of children, who for years
have suffered silently from the devastating impact of online child abuse. It sends a clear and much needed message that
Internet child abuse is one of the most destructive crimes one can commit in an
era when so many of our children are on line”.

KINSA Legal Director David Butt said that “the Supreme Court
has sent a powerful message to courts across Canada about the appropriate range of sentencing for crimes of this type. It is now up to courts across Canada to follow the Supreme Court’s leadership.” Butt added that “this case has important implications internationally as
well. Internet child abuse
investigations are commonly international in scope. Canada’s sentences for Internet child abuse
crimes have been sadly far below the appropriate international norms and with
today’s ruling hope the trend is reversed and that we are on the way to
correcting that sad fact.”

About KINSA

The Kids’ Internet Safety Alliance (KINSA) was established
as an aggressive and proactive response to the negative aspects of the Internet
that harm young people. While addressing this grave social problem, KINSA also
acknowledges and celebrates the positive, creative and inspiring ways children
and youth are using the Internet. 

For further information, contact
Michael Ras, Vice Chair
647-228-2339
Mike.ras@hillandknowlton.ca

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May 30, 2008 - Toronto – The Supreme Court of Canada has strongly endorsed the rights of children to be free from Internet child abuse in a ruling released today. By a majority of 8-1 the Court held that a man who abused his daughter and her friend, recorded images of the abuse for distribution over the Internet, and possessed a large child abuse image collection, should receive a sentence of fifteen years and thereafter be supervised for ten years as a Long Term Offender.

The Supreme Court overturned the ruling of the Quebec Court of Appeal which had reduced the sentence to nine years. The Supreme Court restored the original sentence imposed by the trial judge.

Paul Gillespie, CEO of KINSA, the Kids’ Internet Safety Alliance, said, “this case acknowledges the voices of children, who for years have suffered silently from the devastating impact of online child abuse. It sends a clear and much needed message that Internet child abuse is one of the most destructive crimes one can commit in an era when so many of our children are on line”.

KINSA Legal Director David Butt said that “the Supreme Court has sent a powerful message to courts across Canada about the appropriate range of sentencing for crimes of this type. It is now up to courts across Canada to follow the Supreme Court’s leadership.” Butt added that “this case has important implications internationally as well. Internet child abuse investigations are commonly international in scope. Canada’s sentences for Internet child abuse crimes have been sadly far below the appropriate international norms and with today’s ruling hope the trend is reversed and that we are on the way to correcting that sad fact.”

About KINSA



The Kids’ Internet Safety Alliance (KINSA) was established as an aggressive and proactive response to the negative aspects of the Internet that harm young people. While addressing this grave social problem, KINSA also acknowledges and celebrates the positive, creative and inspiring ways children and youth are using the Internet.

For further information, contact

Michael Ras, Vice Chair

647-228-2339

Mike.ras@hillandknowlton.ca

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KINSA says "Time for Action is Now!" in Response to Canadian Association of Police Boards Report on Cybercrime in Canada

Toronto - May 21, 2008 - KINSA - the Kids’ Internet Safety Alliance - is today calling on all Canadians - and in particular government at all levels - to pay close attention to the report released earlier today by the Canadian Association of Police Boards on Cybercrime in Canada.

"This is an important report and the work done by the Canadian Association of Police Boards highlights the scope and challenges of a problem that front-line workers in this field have known for years," said Paul Gillespie, CEO of KINSA. 

The report laid out a very compelling picture of the problem of cybercrime in Canada - and in particular crimes involving children on the Internet - and also identified what must be done to combat these crimes.  Specifically, the report notes the need for: 

All front-line law-enforcement to work collaboratively, across Canada and internationally;

• A dedicated centre or centres where law enforcement, government, private sector and academia can coordinate efforts;



• Increased dedicated resources for law enforcement and prosecution, including dedicated child exploitation initiatives;



• Increased training for Crown prosecutors to handle these special crimes;



• The need to share prevention education with the public and to properly resource these initiatives;



• Updated international protocols such as Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) so that digital evidence can be secured from international MLAT partners in a timely manner; and,



• The need for legislation requiring mandatory reporting of child pornography.

"Perhaps most importantly, however, the report highlighted the role that every aspect of society - law enforcement, the private sector business community, educators, parents, kids and the general public - have in combating crimes involving the Internet, said Bill Hutchison, Chair of KINSA. The very foundation of KINSA - a charity we founded in the spirit of public and private collaboration to combat the sexual exploitation of children on the Internet - is one that seeks to bring all these groups together."

"This report cannot be left on a shelf to collect dust. It should serve as a clarion call to governments at all levels across Canada, as well as to the private sector, that action is needed to address these crimes," said Gillespie. "The report is written as an action plan. KINSA will continue to do its part as a not-for-profit advocate and as a group who can break down public-private or international boundaries faster and more effectively than government can. We hope that we’re joined in these efforts."

About KINSA

The Kids' Internet Safety Alliance (KINSA) was established as an aggressive and proactive response to the negative aspects of the Internet that harm young people. While addressing this grave social problem, KINSA also acknowledges and celebrates the positive, creative and inspiring ways children and youth are using the Internet.

So far, KINSA has initiated:

• An international training program where charitable donations are being used to bring police officers from around the world to Canada to be trained on leading-edge technology and the latest tools and techniques of cyber-investigations.  Teams from Chile, Romania and Brazil have come through the training program and are working in their countries to combat crimes against children.  More countries, to be announced in a few weeks, are coming through later this summer.
   



• A number of education programs, including the production of a comic book in partnership with Nelvana’s Grossology characters that teach an Internet safety message to kids in the 9 - 14 year old range. This comic was distributed to almost 300,000 kids across Canada in April.
  
  



• A multilingual Web site, now in 9 languages, to be a resource for parents and the general public on what they can do to take action to keep kids safe. 

KINSA representatives are frequent and passionate speakers in the media and to groups around the world on the need to combat this growing crime with positive and proactive action by all aspects of society. 

For more information, please contact:
Michael Ras, Vice Chair of KINSA
(647) 228-2339
Email: Mike.ras@hillandknowlton.ca

Available for interviews or comment are:
Bill Hutchison - Chair of KINSA
Paul Gillespie - President & CEO of KINSA
David Butt - Legal Director, KINSA & former Crown Prosecutor
Gary Ellis - Training Director, KINSA & former Supt with the Toronto Police Service

Please contact Mike Ras to arrange an interview with any of the above. 

Download this press release:
kinsa-cybercrime-response.pdf

See also:

Canadian Association of Police Boards (CAPB)
A report on cybercrime in Canada
April 25, 2008
(Acrobat [PDF] file, 32 pages)

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June 6, 2008 (update)

KINSA is pleased to congratulate author Julian Sher, whose book One Child at a Time:  The Global Fight to Rescue Children from Online Predators has won the 2008 Arthur Ellis Crime Writers of Canada Award in the Best Non-Fiction Category. KINSA also recently honoured Sher as one of Eight Heroes Who Make a Difference in the fight to end the sexual exploitation of children on the Internet. Read more and watch a video highlighting Sher's and the other heroes' important contributions here.

KINSA is pleased to congratulate author Julian Sher, whose book One Child at a Time has been shortlisted for a 2008 Arthur Ellis Crime Writers of Canada Award. Learn more about the award here.

One Child at a Time has garnered consistently positive reviews, and was cited as a Globe and Mail top 100 book for 2007. Published in the spring of 2007, the book goes behind the headlines to show how law officers are fighting back against the tide of abuse that is online child exploitation, from daring rescues in homes to the seizures of millions of dollars in the offshore bank accounts of porn merchants. In riveting detail, Sher shows how clue by clue, and image by image, investigators are using cutting edge tools, turning the technology of the Internet against the perpetrators as they race to find and rescue the victims - children who otherwise have no voice.

The following is an excerpt:

In their efforts to rescue the child victims of one of today's most pervasive and insidious crimes, police  must be creative, dogged and go well beyond the borders drawn on any map ...

Canadian cop Paul Gillespie changed the way that police around the world tackle Internet porn. He decided that if the system was broken, he was going to send an email to Bill Gates and ask for help. Gates not only answered, but Microsoft ended up kicking in millions of dollars, working with Gillespie's team to develop the Child Exploitation Tracking System, a searchable database to track and investigate Web predators and their victims. It soon spread across Canada, and then to the UK, Australia and the U.S.

Older men pretend to be young and caring, luring lonely young girls in chat rooms. But when they show up to meet their victim, they discover the FBI is waiting to arrest them. Emily Vacher, one of the FBI's top Internet undercover operatives, specializes in trapping the predators at their own game of deception.

The photos of the child's abuse were everywhere on the Net, but no one knew who or where she was. In a frantic 36-hour hunt, using CSI-type sleuthing to find clues in the pictures, Canadian, American and European police rescued a girl from North Carolina.

Jim Gamble, one of the most senior police officers in the UK, has spearheaded the creation of a Virtual Global Taskforce to patrol the web 24/7. It was time for a sheriff to tame the wild, wild Web, Gamble decided. Now children have a red "report abuse" button on chat room software and browsers they can click any time they feel threatened.

It is time for the children's stories - too often hidden in the dark corners of the Web - to be told. Their torment has been etched in their memories - and the memories of the police officers dedicated to rescuing them. It is what scars them. But it is also what spurs them on.

Because they know behind every picture or video lies a little, frightened child. Detective Sergeant Paul Gillespie of the Toronto Police's Exploited Child Unit can't shake the lingering echoes of some of the worst videos he has seen of shackled children:

"Sometimes," he says, "you can hear the children cry."

Learn more about One Child at a Time at Amazon.ca.

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Toronto, Ontario
- KINSA, the Kids' Internet Safety Alliance - a charity dedicated to ending the
sexual exploitation of children on the Internet, is holding its second annual
gala celebration tonight and honouring eight heroes who are making a
difference.

These individuals were chosen by the KINSA board for their pioneering work
around the world and are representative of just some of the ways people from
all walks of life can work to end the abuse of children.

Those being honoured include:

Jim Gamble, Chief Executive, Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP),
United Kingdom

Jim Gamble, of London and with 25 years policing in UK positions ranging from
leading the fight against terrorism as the head of the Northern Ireland
anti-terrorist intelligence unit to tackling organized crime as the Deputy
Director of the National Crime Squad, Jim now heads up the Child Exploitation
and Online Protection Centre (CEOP). Jim was instrumental in forming the first
international law enforcement partnership to combat child abuse online - well
known today as the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) - and Jim is a world-renowned
expert in the field of crimes against children and the fight against child sex
abuse

Allison Dellandrea, Crown Attorney's Office (Ontario)

Allison Dellandrea has been an Assistant Crown Attorney for Ontario for over 10
years. She is currently seconded to the Criminal Law Policy Branch as the
Education Coordinator for the Provincial Strategy to Combat Internet Crimes
Against Children. Allison is also a member of the Ministry of the Attorney
General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, prosecuting the toughest
cases of child exploitation in this evolving area of law. Allison is a
dedicated advocate for child victims in court.

HSBC

In 2007, HSBC designated KINSA as "its charity" for a corporate management
challenge. HSBC branch managers embraced the challenge and raised tens of
thousands, which was matched dollar-for-dollar by HSBC corporate. These funds
paid for the production and distribution of the Grossology series comic book
Web of Deception, reaching up to 1.2 million children through the 280,000
copies distributed so far to Canadian schools in April 2008. (Mr. Jon
Hountalas, EVP, Commercial Banking will be accepting the award on behalf of
HSBC).

The Honourable Mr. Justice Joseph W. Bovard, Ontario Court of Justice

In his tenure on the bench, Judge Joseph Bovard has handled some of the most
difficult child exploitation cases, and has served to establish a number of
important precedents in how these cases are adjudicated. His compassion for the
victims of these crimes is a hallmark of the way Judge Bovard handles these
cases.

Cheryl Perera, President and Founder, OneChild

Cheryl Perera is an accomplished children's rights activist and the Founder and
President of OneChild, which was established as a registered non-profit
organization in July 2005. OneChild is the only youth-driven organization of
its kind, dedicated to the elimination of the commercial sexual exploitation of
children abroad. Cheryl's efforts to protect children have distinguished her as
one of 'Canada's
Top 20 Under 20'. She is studying Ethics, Society, and Law and Political
Science at Trinity College
at the University of Toronto.

Earla-Kim McColl, RCMP

Earla-Kim McColl is a recently retired Superintendent with the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police. Ms. McColl was the RCMP Officer in Charge of the National Child
Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC). The NCECC is the national clearing
house and coordination centre for all international requests to conduct
investigations in Canada
related to child sexual exploitation located on the Internet. The centre works
collaboratively with law enforcement partners in Canada
and around the world to protect children against Internet child exploitation.
Ms. McColl is an ardent advocate for children and their universal protection.

Julian Sher, Journalist

Julian Sher is an internationally-acclaimed Canadian author and award-winning
documentary TV producer. Julian wrote the book "One Child at a Time: The
Global Fight to rescue Children from Online Predators" - released in March
2007 - a behind the headlines expose depicting how law officers are fighting
back against a tide of abuse, with daring rescues in homes, to the seizures of
millions of dollars in the offshore bank accounts of porn merchants. Mr. Sher
has carried out investigative projects for the New York Times, The Toronto
Globe & Mail and the Toronto Star. With several international documentary
TV credits, Julian was most recently involved as writer and director of the
documentary "Hunting for Predators" which aired on CBC in November
2007.

Ian Wilms, Chair of the Calgary Police Commission and President of the Canadian
Association of Police Boards

In Calgary, Ian Wilms has a diverse business and government background, and has
held various executive and management positions within

IBM
over 13 years focusing on public safety and security. Mr. Wilms is Chairman of
the Calgary Police Commission, President of the Canadian Association of Police
Boards, and 2nd Vice-Chairman of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. A leading
advocate calling for the dedication of increased resources toward the
investigation and prosecution of crimes of child exploitation, Ian was a force
behind the creation of the Global Centre for Securing Cyberspace (GCSC),
an international hub located in Canada that, when built, will be dedicated to
the investigation of crimes on the Internet.

About KINSA

The Kids' Internet Safety Alliance (KINSA)
was established as an aggressive and proactive response to the negative aspects
of the Internet that harm young people. While addressing this grave social
problem, KINSA also acknowledges and celebrates the positive, creative and
inspiring ways children and youth are using the Internet. The gala evening will
raise awareness, raise some funds and celebrate children and youth.

For more information, please contact

Michael Ras, Vice Chair of KINSA

(647) 228-2339

Email: Mike.ras@hillandknowlton.ca

Website: www.kinsa.net

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KINSA applauds today's announcement that the age of protection for sexual activity has been raised from 14 years to 16 years, as part of the Tackling Violent Crime Act that was introduced by Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Rob Nicholson.

• Click here to read the announcement.



• Click here for an online version of the complete Tackling Violent Crime Act (Bill C-2) on the Parliament of Canada Web site.

KINSA has long advocated this change in the legislation, as a legal mechanism forming part of the arsenal in protecting children from sexual exploitation. Essentially, it prohibits sexual contact with 14 or 15 year olds if the sexual partner is more than 5 years older. This recognizes that recent studies have pointed to 14 and 15 year olds as those most likely to be victimized by adult sexual predators in internet luring situations. It balances this perspective against the recognition that 14 and 15 year olds also have the right to pursue their awakening sexual development, but that that development should take place in the safety of a social environment limited to their peers in age.

KINSA's previous commentary on this issue is available as follows:

• KINSA Comments on Age of Consent (June 22, 2006)



• KINSA White Paper: Teenagers' Sexuality, Protection from Predators, and Choice: Striking the Right Balance (PDF)

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