Gee, let me think about that.....ummm....YES!
Check out this article:
Cambridge City council wants the province to do something it can't: force the city's public library to block pornography on its Internet computers.
Cambridge has the only library system in Waterloo Region that doesn't filter at least some of its internet work stations.
The library board twice rejected public calls to use Internet filters in fall 2008. Instead, the board voted to send a letter to parents of all young library patrons, explaining there are no filters.
As well, the board promised to review filtering software regularly and reconsider the issue when the technology is more reliable.
In January, city council rejected a call to force the library board to buy Internet filtering software.
The board runs library operations under provincial law; all the city does is provide operating funds.
The city library shouldn't condone viewing of pornography -- especially child pornography -- said Reverend Robert Merritt of First United Church.
He called on the city to join its white ribbon campaign calling on the province to change the rules.
"Pornography hurts. That's why it's so important why our Ontario libraries everywhere place filters on their computers to prevent the viewing of obscene material or downloading of child pornography," he told council.
In 2004, a Cambridge man was arrested for using a city library computer to download child pornography, he said.
Council voted 4-3 to support a motion by Councillor Ben Tucci calling for the province to force libraries to use Internet blocking software.
Tucci, councillors Rick Cowsill and Karl Kiefer, and Mayor Doug Craig voted for the provincial review. Councillors Pam Wolf, Gary Price and Linda Whetham opposed the motion.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Do you think tougher laws are needed??? I do!
Again, Scott Tracey, a reporter for the Guelph Mercury, has written a fantastic article about the new legislation coming forward regarding the option of tapping into the internet to monitor online communications. But for good reason folks...
Here's the article:
The online world is starting to overlap with my offline world where my kids are concerned, and I'm feeling a bit freaked out by it.
A couple of months ago my 14-year-old son, Dylan, joined Facebook, and he's routinely surfing the Internet with his hand-held gaming system.
More recently my daughter Sophie's Grade 4 class launched an online reading blog on which they can share views about the books they are currently reading with whoever stops by to take a look.
Now, the reading blog contains no last names, and all posts and comments are vetted by her teacher before they are published. But in signing the permission form a couple of weeks ago, some part of me acknowledged doing so would ever so slightly thin the wall of protection we've subconsciously built around all three kids, and the two girls in particular.
I acknowledge I am perhaps more sensitive about these things than a lot of parents. Spending every day for five years in court will do that to you.
But there are very real and very dangerous threats to our children in this community, as there are in every community.
Recent events, including the arrests of three local men in the largest child pornography investigation in Ontario history, demonstrate how immediate this threat can be.
It was against this backdrop that the federal government confirmed this week it is preparing legislation that could force Internet providers to let the police eavesdrop on emails and electronic chat forums.
Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan told a Commons committee the new legislation is required because the law has not kept up with technology.
"We have legislation covering wiretap and surveillance that was designed for the era of the rotary phone," Van Loan said.
The law would allow police, once they've jumped through all the hoops necessary to win court approval, to tap Internet service exchanges in the same way current laws allow them to physically intercept telephone calls through the use of wiretaps.
"If somebody's engaging in illegal activities on the Internet, whether it be the exploitation of children, distributing illegal child pornography, conducting some kind of fraud, simple things like getting (a) username and address should be fairly standard, simple practice," Van Loan said. "We need to provide police with tools to be able to get that information so that they can carry out these investigations."
Expect opposition to the legislation.
Former prime minister Paul Martin attempted to introduce similar measures in 2005, but the so-called Lawful Access Bill died on the order paper amid a flurry of negative reaction from the public. Peter MacKay, who was then the Conservatives' justice critic and is now a member of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet, spoke out against the Liberal initiative more than three years ago.
But I think the Conservatives have a shot at passing the new regs this time.
Cybercrime is on the increase, and it is more apparent all the time police do not have the tools to keep pace with the bad guys.
This won't stop the civil libertarians, of course, who have already begun to dig deep into the rhetoric bucket with talk of Big Brother and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.
On one feedback forum yesterday, a commenter named Logan panned the proposed bill and called the Internet "the last place of freedom we have."
Hogwash.
Besides the obvious -- that virtually nothing on the Internet is even remotely private -- this legislation will affect only those who are breaking the law.
If you're among the vast majority of Internet users who play within the confines of the law, you will likely not ever know this law is in place. For those engaged in those activities Van Loan spelled out, the legislation can't come soon enough.
Scott Tracey's column normally appears Fridays. He can be reached at 519-823-6068 or via email at stracey@guelphmercury.com.
Here's the article:
The online world is starting to overlap with my offline world where my kids are concerned, and I'm feeling a bit freaked out by it.
A couple of months ago my 14-year-old son, Dylan, joined Facebook, and he's routinely surfing the Internet with his hand-held gaming system.
More recently my daughter Sophie's Grade 4 class launched an online reading blog on which they can share views about the books they are currently reading with whoever stops by to take a look.
Now, the reading blog contains no last names, and all posts and comments are vetted by her teacher before they are published. But in signing the permission form a couple of weeks ago, some part of me acknowledged doing so would ever so slightly thin the wall of protection we've subconsciously built around all three kids, and the two girls in particular.
I acknowledge I am perhaps more sensitive about these things than a lot of parents. Spending every day for five years in court will do that to you.
But there are very real and very dangerous threats to our children in this community, as there are in every community.
Recent events, including the arrests of three local men in the largest child pornography investigation in Ontario history, demonstrate how immediate this threat can be.
It was against this backdrop that the federal government confirmed this week it is preparing legislation that could force Internet providers to let the police eavesdrop on emails and electronic chat forums.
Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan told a Commons committee the new legislation is required because the law has not kept up with technology.
"We have legislation covering wiretap and surveillance that was designed for the era of the rotary phone," Van Loan said.
The law would allow police, once they've jumped through all the hoops necessary to win court approval, to tap Internet service exchanges in the same way current laws allow them to physically intercept telephone calls through the use of wiretaps.
"If somebody's engaging in illegal activities on the Internet, whether it be the exploitation of children, distributing illegal child pornography, conducting some kind of fraud, simple things like getting (a) username and address should be fairly standard, simple practice," Van Loan said. "We need to provide police with tools to be able to get that information so that they can carry out these investigations."
Expect opposition to the legislation.
Former prime minister Paul Martin attempted to introduce similar measures in 2005, but the so-called Lawful Access Bill died on the order paper amid a flurry of negative reaction from the public. Peter MacKay, who was then the Conservatives' justice critic and is now a member of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's cabinet, spoke out against the Liberal initiative more than three years ago.
But I think the Conservatives have a shot at passing the new regs this time.
Cybercrime is on the increase, and it is more apparent all the time police do not have the tools to keep pace with the bad guys.
This won't stop the civil libertarians, of course, who have already begun to dig deep into the rhetoric bucket with talk of Big Brother and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.
On one feedback forum yesterday, a commenter named Logan panned the proposed bill and called the Internet "the last place of freedom we have."
Hogwash.
Besides the obvious -- that virtually nothing on the Internet is even remotely private -- this legislation will affect only those who are breaking the law.
If you're among the vast majority of Internet users who play within the confines of the law, you will likely not ever know this law is in place. For those engaged in those activities Van Loan spelled out, the legislation can't come soon enough.
Scott Tracey's column normally appears Fridays. He can be reached at 519-823-6068 or via email at stracey@guelphmercury.com.
More info on the June Ave School situation
In today's Mercury folks. From reporter Scott Tracey:
Deon Ellsworth was shocked this week to learn a suspect in a child pornography case lives near the elementary school his daughters attend.
"I was kind of shocked that they would let him live in a school area," Ellsworth said yesterday as he waited in his truck in front of June Avenue Public School for his daughters, aged six and nine. "My wife was really upset about it."
Students at the kindergarten to Grade 6 school brought home a letter Wednesday from principal Andrew Creighton.
The letter, which was actually written by school board communications officer Maggie McFadzen, acknowledges the suspect lives near the school.
"While this is an unsettling situation, we will continue to keep the safety of our students foremost in everything we do at June Avenue school," the letter reads.
One concerned parent provided the letter to community activist Cam Guthrie, who posted it on his blog, www.stopchildporn.ca.
McFadzen said a few concerned parents spoke to Creighton after reading about the case in the newspaper "and we put the letter out to inform the school community that we are on our guard.
"It was simply a letter to reassure the school community," McFadzen said.
But Ellsworth was not reassured.
"It's pretty disturbing," he said, adding he learned from speaking to other parents that the suspect lives across from a park about 600 metres from the school "and a lot of kids go there to play, especially in the nicer weather."
Fellow parent Kim Brenner was similarly disturbed by the news.
"Of course it concerns me that a person with that charge is in the area," said Brenner, whose daughter attends June Avenue. "Of course."
Brenner noted it is fortunate police are aware of the suspect, who is free on $2,500 bail with a long list of conditions, including a ban on being near parks, playgrounds and schools.
The suspect was one of three area men arrested last week as part of a massive provincewide child pornography investigation; the largest of its kind in Ontario history.
Deon Ellsworth was shocked this week to learn a suspect in a child pornography case lives near the elementary school his daughters attend.
"I was kind of shocked that they would let him live in a school area," Ellsworth said yesterday as he waited in his truck in front of June Avenue Public School for his daughters, aged six and nine. "My wife was really upset about it."
Students at the kindergarten to Grade 6 school brought home a letter Wednesday from principal Andrew Creighton.
The letter, which was actually written by school board communications officer Maggie McFadzen, acknowledges the suspect lives near the school.
"While this is an unsettling situation, we will continue to keep the safety of our students foremost in everything we do at June Avenue school," the letter reads.
One concerned parent provided the letter to community activist Cam Guthrie, who posted it on his blog, www.stopchildporn.ca.
McFadzen said a few concerned parents spoke to Creighton after reading about the case in the newspaper "and we put the letter out to inform the school community that we are on our guard.
"It was simply a letter to reassure the school community," McFadzen said.
But Ellsworth was not reassured.
"It's pretty disturbing," he said, adding he learned from speaking to other parents that the suspect lives across from a park about 600 metres from the school "and a lot of kids go there to play, especially in the nicer weather."
Fellow parent Kim Brenner was similarly disturbed by the news.
"Of course it concerns me that a person with that charge is in the area," said Brenner, whose daughter attends June Avenue. "Of course."
Brenner noted it is fortunate police are aware of the suspect, who is free on $2,500 bail with a long list of conditions, including a ban on being near parks, playgrounds and schools.
The suspect was one of three area men arrested last week as part of a massive provincewide child pornography investigation; the largest of its kind in Ontario history.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Olympian Charged with Child Porn Offences
Another Great Role Model?
TORONTO — A 20-year-old member of the 2008 Canadian Olympic archery team has been charged with child pornography offences, his coach said Thursday.
John David Burnes was arrested in Kingston, Ont., as part of an Ontario-wide child pornography sweep last week that resulted in 93 charges against 31 people.
He has been charged with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of making available child pornography.
Burnes, born in Toronto and now a student at Queen’s University in Kingston, competed in Beijing this summer and placed 63rd in his event.
His coach, Joan McDonald, confirmed to The Canadian Press that Burnes the archer is the young man facing child pornography charges.
McDonald said she learned of the charges from the media.
“They called me and asked me the question and I called his parents,” said McDonald, who added Burnes’s parents confirmed the charges.
She called the situation a tragedy, adding, “it’s always a tragedy when young people are in trouble.”
McDonald said she would not discuss the charges further.
“In Canada you’re innocent until you’re proven guilty.”
To her knowledge Burnes will continue with archery, McDonald added.
A court official in Kingston said Burnes’s next scheduled court appearance is May 5.
The date of birth listed for Burnes on the court file also matches the archer’s biography on the official Canadian Olympic Committee website for the Beijing Games.
Bruce Savage, the president of Burnes’s archery club, The Archers of Caledon, had no comment when asked about the charges.
Burnes attends Queen’s University and the COC biography says he plans to pursue a career in medicine. McDonald said she believes he wants to transfer from a general arts program into kinesiology.
The COC information also notes Burnes was the youngest member of the Canadian archery team.
He won an individual bronze medal and team silver medal at the 2007 Canada Winter Games and won a silver medal in a junior category at the 2006 Canadian Archery Championships.
The biography lists his hobbies as skiing, running, golfing, canoeing, graphic design, painting and photography.
Federal Government to change laws?
I have just found this news item about new legislation being brought forward to listen in on the Internet. Fine with me...bring it on!
Here's the article:
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The federal government is preparing sweeping new legislation that would force Internet service providers to let police eavesdrop on exchanges in their systems.
The plan was confirmed to a Commons committee Wednesday by Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, who says current wiretap and surveillance laws were “designed for the era of the rotary phone.”
Van Loan says there have been situations where police want to act quickly to stop a crime, but can’t because of the current laws.
Under the proposed legislation, police would first have to get court approval before they eavesdrop on Internet exchanges.
The plan is likely to please the RCMP and other police forces, who say current eavesdropping laws provide a digital safe haven for criminals, pedophiles, and terrorists.
However, it’s expected to face stiff resistance from civil libertarians, who warn it would effectively place Canada under constant surveillance in which police would monitor private conversations.
Here's the article:
The Canadian Press
OTTAWA — The federal government is preparing sweeping new legislation that would force Internet service providers to let police eavesdrop on exchanges in their systems.
The plan was confirmed to a Commons committee Wednesday by Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, who says current wiretap and surveillance laws were “designed for the era of the rotary phone.”
Van Loan says there have been situations where police want to act quickly to stop a crime, but can’t because of the current laws.
Under the proposed legislation, police would first have to get court approval before they eavesdrop on Internet exchanges.
The plan is likely to please the RCMP and other police forces, who say current eavesdropping laws provide a digital safe haven for criminals, pedophiles, and terrorists.
However, it’s expected to face stiff resistance from civil libertarians, who warn it would effectively place Canada under constant surveillance in which police would monitor private conversations.
*UPDATE* on June Ave School letter!
Here is the letter sent home to parents yesterday:
Dear Parents and Guardians:
Recently some parents have come in to school concerned that one of the men arrested last week in the Province-wide crackdown on child pornography lives in our school area.
We are aware of this situation and understand that he has been released on bail and ordered to obey various terms, including bans on going to schools, playgrounds or parks. All of the bail conditions imposed are being monitored by the Guelph Police.
While this is an unsettling situation, we will continue to keep the safety of our students foremost in everything we do at June Avenue school. We have a caring school community, and by working together we can keep our children protected not only while at school but in the neigbourhood as well.
Sincerely,
Andrew Creighton
Principal
The parent who gave me this said her child was very upset about this letter and the whole way home from school he was quiet and saying that his stomach hurt. When they got into their home he said to his mom "can you lock the door right away, that will make my stomach better."
At that time she had to have a "sit-down" talk with her son about this letter and I'm sure a lot more trying to help him understand the situation. All of this to a 6 year old.
Not only are the children who are directly hurt in this sick and evil act damaged but the whole community is. As I just learned, even a letter, like the one sent home yesterday, is disturbing enough for children.
As I've stressed before....we need to protect our children through awareness programs that come from us. Becoming aware of these issues through letter's sent home scaring the crap out of kids is no way for a child to become aware of these sick individuals out there.
Dear Parents and Guardians:
Recently some parents have come in to school concerned that one of the men arrested last week in the Province-wide crackdown on child pornography lives in our school area.
We are aware of this situation and understand that he has been released on bail and ordered to obey various terms, including bans on going to schools, playgrounds or parks. All of the bail conditions imposed are being monitored by the Guelph Police.
While this is an unsettling situation, we will continue to keep the safety of our students foremost in everything we do at June Avenue school. We have a caring school community, and by working together we can keep our children protected not only while at school but in the neigbourhood as well.
Sincerely,
Andrew Creighton
Principal
The parent who gave me this said her child was very upset about this letter and the whole way home from school he was quiet and saying that his stomach hurt. When they got into their home he said to his mom "can you lock the door right away, that will make my stomach better."
At that time she had to have a "sit-down" talk with her son about this letter and I'm sure a lot more trying to help him understand the situation. All of this to a 6 year old.
Not only are the children who are directly hurt in this sick and evil act damaged but the whole community is. As I just learned, even a letter, like the one sent home yesterday, is disturbing enough for children.
As I've stressed before....we need to protect our children through awareness programs that come from us. Becoming aware of these issues through letter's sent home scaring the crap out of kids is no way for a child to become aware of these sick individuals out there.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Letter sent home warning of PEDOPHILES!
I just heard of a letter being sent home today with kids from June Ave Public School. This letter is warning parents of 2 men living within the school area (apparently one across from the school)aged 29 and 50 that are pedophiles. I'm getting a copy of this letter tomorrow and will post more info as it becomes available.
Friday, February 6, 2009
A quick drive to Brockville and what do you get?
A child porn guy! Or "Evil Balding Santa" as I call him!
Who's been dodging his sentencing hearings for months. When the judge sentences this guy in March, make sure you also charge him for the cost of 2 police officers who had to drive to Brockville to get him. Oh, and if there's anyway to wipe that smurk off his face from this picture below, that would be great as well.
Here's the article from the Guelph Mercury about this guy!
The Guelph Police Service has resolved Gordon Beacock's issue with finding a way to the city.
Two officers drove to Brockville Wednesday and arrested the admitted child pornography collector, a day after he failed to appear in a Guelph courtroom for sentencing.
Defence counsel Matthew Stanley, prior to asking the court to remove him from the record as Beacock's lawyer, told Justice David Carr his client could not attend court because he did not have enough money for the bus.
It was the same excuse Beacock used when he missed an earlier sentencing hearing in December.
On Wednesday, Carr issued a warrant for Beacock's arrest.
The man appeared in bail court yesterday, where he was remanded in custody and ordered to return to court March 18, when Carr is next scheduled to sit in Guelph.
Beacock pleaded guilty last May to possessing child pornography in what Guelph Police believed was one of the largest such seizures in the province.
In June 2007, police executed a warrant on Beacock's basement apartment, steps from a local elementary school.
Officers eventually recovered more than 19,500 child porn images, almost 2,000 videos and more than 600 stories. The materials depicted children from infancy to prepubescence engaged in a full range of sexual activity.
Two officers drove to Brockville Wednesday and arrested the admitted child pornography collector, a day after he failed to appear in a Guelph courtroom for sentencing.
Defence counsel Matthew Stanley, prior to asking the court to remove him from the record as Beacock's lawyer, told Justice David Carr his client could not attend court because he did not have enough money for the bus.
It was the same excuse Beacock used when he missed an earlier sentencing hearing in December.
On Wednesday, Carr issued a warrant for Beacock's arrest.
The man appeared in bail court yesterday, where he was remanded in custody and ordered to return to court March 18, when Carr is next scheduled to sit in Guelph.
Beacock pleaded guilty last May to possessing child pornography in what Guelph Police believed was one of the largest such seizures in the province.
In June 2007, police executed a warrant on Beacock's basement apartment, steps from a local elementary school.
Officers eventually recovered more than 19,500 child porn images, almost 2,000 videos and more than 600 stories. The materials depicted children from infancy to prepubescence engaged in a full range of sexual activity.
More Child Porn arrests in Guelph!!
And here we go again folks! Don't think this stuff is happening in our own backyards?? Think again! Great job done by the police force Ontario wide, working together to get these guys! Saving kids as well!!
Here's an article from the Guelph Mercury below:
Guelph Police part of provincial crackdown that leads to 31 arrests, 93 charges
February 06, 2009
Scott Tracey
Two Guelph men and one from Palmerston were among more than 30 people arrested this week in what police are calling the largest co-ordinated crackdown on child pornography in Ontario history.
At a news conference in Toronto yesterday morning, police said they had laid 93 charges against 31 people. The investigation, headed by the OPP, involved a total of 19 police agencies including the Guelph Police Service.
Constable Bruce Hunter of the Guelph Police technical crimes unit said two local residents were identified as part of the investigation a couple of months ago.
Hunter said the probe specifically targeted users of peer-to-peer file sharing programs who were making child pornography available to other users over the Internet.
Yesterday, 23-year-old Matthew Bates of Bailey Avenue, 57-year-old Karl James of Conroy Crescent and Paul Freestone, 43, of Palmerston each appeared in Guelph bail court.
Bates was released on $2,500 bail and ordered to live with his mother and obey various terms, including bans on using computers and going to schools, playgrounds or parks.
Bates will be back in court Feb. 23.
James and Freestone were each expected to return to bail court this morning.
Justice of the peace Avis Rodney imposed publication bans on the evidence heard against each of the accused.
Hunter said there could be more arrests in Guelph, noting local officers and investigators from the OPP are conducting child porn investigations every day.
"There are certainly more that we're working on," the constable said.
The Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet, involving the OPP and 18 partner police services, was formed in August 2006 following a request from the provincial government to develop a co-ordinated, provincewide approach to battling Internet-based crimes against children.
During the recent investigation, police rescued two children -- a four-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl -- they allege were the victims of sexual abuse.
"Unfortunately, I believe there's thousands of children we're not getting to, and that's particularly difficult," Inspector Andy Stewart, who manages the OPP's child sexual exploitation section, said at the news conference.
In Guelph, Hunter said those arrested this week "is a substantial number of people, but it certainly also shows the scope of this problem."
With Files From the Canadian Press
BY THE NUMBERS
A provincial crackdown of child pornography this week has reached almost every corner of Ontario. The 31 people originate from a number of cities, including:
London (4), Ottawa (3), Guelph (2), Windsor (2), Mississauga (2), Toronto (2), Sudbury (2), Niagara Falls (1), Kingston (1), Wasaga Beach (1), Welland (1), Woodbridge (1), Palmerston (1), Richmond Hill (1), Thunder Bay (1), Brantford (1), Matheson (1), Oshawa (1), Hamilton (1), Elmira (1), Burlington (1).
Here's an article from the Guelph Mercury below:
Guelph Police part of provincial crackdown that leads to 31 arrests, 93 charges
February 06, 2009
Scott Tracey
Two Guelph men and one from Palmerston were among more than 30 people arrested this week in what police are calling the largest co-ordinated crackdown on child pornography in Ontario history.
At a news conference in Toronto yesterday morning, police said they had laid 93 charges against 31 people. The investigation, headed by the OPP, involved a total of 19 police agencies including the Guelph Police Service.
Constable Bruce Hunter of the Guelph Police technical crimes unit said two local residents were identified as part of the investigation a couple of months ago.
Hunter said the probe specifically targeted users of peer-to-peer file sharing programs who were making child pornography available to other users over the Internet.
Yesterday, 23-year-old Matthew Bates of Bailey Avenue, 57-year-old Karl James of Conroy Crescent and Paul Freestone, 43, of Palmerston each appeared in Guelph bail court.
Bates was released on $2,500 bail and ordered to live with his mother and obey various terms, including bans on using computers and going to schools, playgrounds or parks.
Bates will be back in court Feb. 23.
James and Freestone were each expected to return to bail court this morning.
Justice of the peace Avis Rodney imposed publication bans on the evidence heard against each of the accused.
Hunter said there could be more arrests in Guelph, noting local officers and investigators from the OPP are conducting child porn investigations every day.
"There are certainly more that we're working on," the constable said.
The Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet, involving the OPP and 18 partner police services, was formed in August 2006 following a request from the provincial government to develop a co-ordinated, provincewide approach to battling Internet-based crimes against children.
During the recent investigation, police rescued two children -- a four-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl -- they allege were the victims of sexual abuse.
"Unfortunately, I believe there's thousands of children we're not getting to, and that's particularly difficult," Inspector Andy Stewart, who manages the OPP's child sexual exploitation section, said at the news conference.
In Guelph, Hunter said those arrested this week "is a substantial number of people, but it certainly also shows the scope of this problem."
With Files From the Canadian Press
BY THE NUMBERS
A provincial crackdown of child pornography this week has reached almost every corner of Ontario. The 31 people originate from a number of cities, including:
London (4), Ottawa (3), Guelph (2), Windsor (2), Mississauga (2), Toronto (2), Sudbury (2), Niagara Falls (1), Kingston (1), Wasaga Beach (1), Welland (1), Woodbridge (1), Palmerston (1), Richmond Hill (1), Thunder Bay (1), Brantford (1), Matheson (1), Oshawa (1), Hamilton (1), Elmira (1), Burlington (1).
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