Morning Read: US uses Ontario for child sex sting
The Montreal Gazette is reporting this morning that US officials used a fictional Ontario vacation opportunity as part of a sting aimed at catching pedophiles.
The newspaper describes the effort as “controversial” and says the Department of Homeland Security created a false website describing a “Precious Treasure Holiday” and portraying Ontario as “a haven for child-sex tourism.”
But it was the use of Canada as a safe haven for sex tourism that raised questions about how the country was portrayed in the sting.
“Canada made for a more plausible scenario,” Brian Moskowitz, the special agent in charge of the investigation, told Postmedia News shortly after the indictments were announced.
“It was never our intent to take anyone to Canada and no children were involved. It was merely part of a scenario that we built.”
US Federal officials say four people — two Germans and two Americans — were caught by the sting and have been convicted.
There’s no sign of official discomfort with this strategy, and the news comes as both countries are increasing their cross-border law enforcement efforts.
Tags: canada, criminal justice
I’m surprised that Canada hasn’t objected to the suggestion that they would tolerate such a thing. Canada does have a somewhat more relaxed attitude about sex than the US which is extremely prudish, but it does not extend to being “a haven for child-sex tourism” and I can’t imagine them being pleased with such a suggestion.
Next thing you know and Ontario will have a sex sting in the Adirondacks. Fair is fair.
It’s hysterical when you look into it (SmokingGun website) and find the the website was outed by a woman who worked to find these type of sites who reported it to the Cleveland police. So we’ve got the dog eating it’s own tail. All on our dime!
Disgusting on so many levels: entrapment, using Canada.