New police unit taking on hundreds of Greater Victoria child porn investigations

The Capital Regional District Internet Child Exploitation Unit is is investigating 240 files just months after launching.

Warning: This story contains information about online exploitation and sexual abuse against children.

It’s only been a couple of months since a team of Greater Victoria cops started investigating child pornography, and already, they’ve been assigned 240 files.

“It is a lot and it’s a lot because some of these files involve 18,000 images and videos,” said Sgt. Paul Brailey.

The Capital Regional District Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit has six members, hailing from the Central Saanich, Saanich, and Victoria Police Departments. They’ve been working under the same roof for a few weeks, supported by $3.5 million in federal funding over the next three years.

“We don’t have to worry about the borders anymore,” Brailey said. “Before, a file would go to Central Saanich or it would go to Oak Bay. And often, you didn’t have the expertise in the smaller departments.”

Even the bigger departments, like Victoria and Saanich, had serious limitations.

“When I was with the Victoria police, I was the lone ICE investigator back then,” said Const. Mark MacPhail, who has been investigating child pornography since 2012.

As the team grows, reports of child pornography surge.

Many of the files referred to the team come from the B.C. RCMP’s child exploitation unit. In 2023, the RCMP’s ICE Unit received 15,920 reports of abuse, up from 4,600 two years prior.

“Unfortunately, it’s only getting worse,” said Const. Adam DeFrane, a member of the CRD ICE Unit.

“This is not an area that is going to be fixed any time soon. We have to chip away at the problem.”

‘The worst type of criminal’

Most of the CRD ICE unit’s files are related to people accessing child pornography, though some investigations target the people creating the abusive content.

“The kids that are being abused, there’s a high percentage they go on to be offenders, so it’s a matter of trying to stop the cycle of abuse,” Brailey said.

“Some of the images that we see are babies or two- or three-year-olds that are getting abused.”

Most of the children are between the ages of five and 10.

Watch: CTV News delves into the passion and personalities driving the CRD ICE Unit

“I have certainly seen images with women doing the abusing, but it’s predominantly men,” said MacPhail. “These criminals are the worst type of criminal.”

Every workday, MacPhail and his colleagues are confronted with photos and videos of children experiencing horrific abuse. They can’t afford to look away, as the images often contain critical pieces of evidence.

“I love the innocence of children and it’s really sad to see that being taken away in these files. Anything I can do to help in that – that’s what I’m here for,” said Defrane.

‘The goals outweigh the personal risk’

Disclosure administrator Carlene Prill creates the unit’s disclosure packages for Crown Prosecutors. The job exposes her to detailed written reports of abuse.

“Working for a police department will always have an increased probability of PTSD or mental health issues,” she said.

“The goals outweigh the personal risk for me, and I have a really good personal support system at home.”

The team shares the common goal of protecting kids, along with a common personality trait.

“I’m very good at compartmentalizing,” Prill said.

While none of the members CTV News interviewed experience nightmares or are haunted by the images they’ve been exposed to, Brailey said plenty of people have been forced to leave the field.

“This job has a shelf life or should have a shelf life of maybe three to five years,” he said.

MacPhail is in year 13.

“I am very motivated by the end goal of prosecuting these individuals who are harming children,” he said.

Resources

• Call 1-800-663-9122 to report child abuse in B.C.
• National tipline for reporting online sexual exploitation of children
• Call 911 if a child is in immediate danger