(Ottawa)—In mid-December 2018, an Ottawa man was stopped by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers when returning to Canada after a voluntary mission at an orphanage in Nepal. Officers found evidence of suspected child pornography and several communications where the man engaged in conversations requesting to have sexual relations with children under the age of 16.
Subsequent investigation conducted by the Ottawa Police Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit confirmed the images to meet the Criminal Code definition of child pornography, and resulted in the identification of 5 Nepalese male victims, all under the age of 16.
In collaboration with Ottawa Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), CBSA Liaison Officer at RCMP Behavioral Sciences, and Peel Regional Police Airport division, the male was arrested today at the Pearson International Airport and escorted off a plane destined for Panama City.
Simultaneously, a search warrant was executed at his residence in Ottawa where additional electronic devices containing images of child pornography were seized.
The man was transported back to Ottawa this afternoon where he will be facing charges.
An additional warrant will be obtained by ICE to forensically examine the digital items seized by Peel Police at the time of his arrest.
As a result, Ottawa Police charged Paul MCCARTHY, 62 years old of Ottawa with:
- 2 x possession of child pornography s.163.1 (4)
- 1 x luring a child under 18 s. 172.1(1)(a)
- 1x import child pornography s. 163.1(3)
He is scheduled to appear in court in Ottawa on Saturday, January 5, 2019.
This is an ongoing investigation and ICE investigators are concerned that there could be further victims. Additional charges are expected to be laid.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477 (TIPS), toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or downloading the Ottawa Police app.
For more information on how to protect children from child sexual abuse and exploitation, please visit www.protectchildren.ca
The Ottawa Police Service is a member of the Provincial Strategy to protect children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet. This Project has been made possible by a grant from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.