by Kellie Hudson
CBC News

Police forces across the country fight a tireless battle against child pornography. In one year alone, Toronto police seized millions of images of children being sexually exploited.

While Canadian law enforcement agencies make a dent in the trade of images of children being violated, their efforts can also take a heavy toll on the people under scrutiny.

In one recent example, Toronto police held a news conference as part of Operation Snowball, a Canada-wide investigation into child pornography on the internet. At the April 16, 2003 conference, they announced the arrest of five men accused of using their credit cards to buy child porn. A warrant had been issued for the arrest of a sixth suspect.

The names and ages of all the suspects were released to the media, who turned out in droves for the announcement.

For one of the men named that day, the arrest and public naming and shaming sent him into a tailspin. Although the charges against him were eventually withdrawn, he never recovered from the stigma of being associated with such a despicable crime.

He lost his job, his friends, his reputation – and eventually his will to live.

But for another man identified at the same media event, a father of three named John, the public arrest and jail term proved to be a wake-up call. His arrest and subsequent jail sentence led him to seek help for a lifelong addiction to pornography.

The stories of these two men show the often opposing forces at work in law enforcement: on the one hand is the desire that most people have to get rid of child pornography – the makers, the abusers and the voyeurs.

And on the other is the fundamental principle of our legal system: the need and the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.

NEXT > A brother's tragic tale