Child porn ring busted, 386 rescued

TORONTO (AP):

A sweeping child pornography investigation has led to the rescue of 386 children around the world and the arrest of 348 people, Canadian police said yesterday.

Toronto police describe the Project Spade operation as one of the largest child porn busts they've ever seen.

"It is alleged that officers seized hundreds of thousands of videos detailing horrific sexual acts against very young children, some of the worst that they have ever viewed," Inspector Joanna Beaven-Desjardins said.

Police said 108 people were arrested in Canada and 76 in the United States. Others were arrested in other countries. Schoolteachers, doctors and actors were among those arrested.

Police said the children were "rescued from child exploitation" but did not give more details.

Beaven-Desjardins said the investigation began with a Toronto man accused of running a company since 2005 that distributed child pornography videos.

Police allege Brian Way, 42, instructed people around the world to create the videos of children ranging from 5 to 12 years of age, then distributed the videos via his company, Azov Films, to international customers. The videos included naked boys from Germany, Romania and Ukraine, which it marketed as naturist movies, and claimed were legal in Canada and the United States.