Webcam warning for parents as man faces child porn charges

A CANADIAN man accused of duping girls in England to strip off and perform sex acts over a webcam was last night set to appear in court.

Mark Gary Bedford, 21, will appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Kingston, Ontario.

Unemployed Bedford, who lived at home with his parents, was arrested on Wednesday in a joint operation between British police and Canadian authorities.

He was charged with two counts of luring a child by means of a computer, two counts of possessing child pornography, three counts of making child pornography, two counts of distributing child pornography and three counts of extortion.

The nine-month investigation by police in Canada and Britain could lead to additional charges, police said.

It has also been claimed that threats were made to post the alleged victims’ images on websites or show them to family members.

At least 42 of the alleged victims are believed to come from Britain, in particular Kent, and police believe their inquiries could uncover more than 100 victims in Britain and Canada.

Yesterday Stephen Carrick-Davies, chief executive of Childnet International, said the case boldly illustrated the need for parents to be fully aware of who their children were communicating with online.

He said: “We need to reinforce the advice that it is really inadvisable for children to have computers in their bedrooms especially when they have webcams.

“This case highlights the fact that parents need to be aware of who their children are communicating with over the internet.

“It may seem a very private, intimate environment for children to be in but in fact it is very public, and their pictures can appear anywhere.”

A computer system, floppy discs, CDs and other items were seized during a search of the Bedford property in Glengarry Road, Kingston, Ontario.

It is alleged Bedford operated under the names Marco1812000 and Supalover666 and would hack into his victims’ email accounts to access their buddy lists.

Speaking at a news conference in Toronto, Ontario Police Detective Sergeant Frank Goldschmidt said: “I have never seen this many victims involved and I’m safe to say that at this point and time in this early stage of this investigation we’re looking at well in excess of 100.”