Child porn seized, Windsor man arrested in province-wide effort

Windsor police have charged a man with possession and accessing child pornography as part of a province-wide sting.

During the month of November, 26 participating police forces, in partnership with the Ontario Provincial Police and RCMP, filed 551 charges for sexual assault and interference, possession, distribution and making of child pornography and luring.

A total of 122 people were charged, including 11 youth.

Local arrest for child porn possession

On Nov. 14, Windsor police acted on a search warrant for a downtown residence. They seized data storage devices and found child pornography.

Richard Dalkeith, of Windsor, was arrested at police headquarters. He is charged with three counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of accessing child pornography and two counts of making child pornography available.

Windsor police do not believe any local children were involved.

None of the allegations against the 40-year-old accused have been proven in court.

Province'sstrategy to protect children

The work by Internet Child Exploitation units to stop the possession and distribution of child porn has been in place since 2006 as the Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet.

"Anyone who possesses, distributes, accesses or otherwise supports the supply and demand chain for child sexual abuse images are complicit in the sexual exploitation of children," said Staff Sgt. Sharon Hanlon, strategy coordinator.

According to a release, the strategy was created so the province of Ontario could tackle the "growing issue as a cohesive, united team." Its goal is to address what it calls the "complete picture" of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

In addition to charges filed and arrests made, the strategy coordinates victim support, prevention and awareness activities.

Windsor police conduct presentations in schools to educate children on internet safety. They recently created an educational video called "Learn to Spot the Red Flags" with #OfficerRedFlag.

Watch the #OfficerRedFlag video:

"It's highlighting online safety," said Sgt. Steve Betteridge with the Windsor Police Service. "There's some comedy involved and that's great, because we want our viewer to enjoy the video and remember it but let's not forget how serious that topic is."

The video was released on social media so other police services could take advantage of it as well.

"The more it spreads, if it went viral that would be fantastic," said Betteridge. "We're all on the same page with the same goal of keeping our communities and our young people safe."

Windsor's I.C.E. unit has been active in the strategy since its inception.