Toddler, dog sexually assaulted, woman charged
Lakeshore, ON (CA)Incident Date: Saturday, Apr 25, 2009
Disposition: Alleged
Abuser names unreleased
Police call it one of the most shocking and disturbing crimes they've seen after a woman allegedly broadcast herself on a webcam having sex with her toddler child and her dog.
"It's one of those things that just makes your stomach roll," said Essex County OPP Const. Janet Hayes. "It's hard to believe there are people out there that can commit these despicable offences, especially against their own child. You can't comprehend someone that could do something like that."
The Lakeshore woman - police are keeping her name and age a secret to protect her child's identity - is charged with sexual assault, sexual interference, sexual exploitation and bestiality.
Further charges related to making, possessing and distributing child pornography are possible, once the OPP E-Crimes unit in Orillia finishes a forensic examination of the woman's computers. Investigators seized several computers from the woman's home along with other "possible offence related devices."
Police aren't revealing the gender or exact age of the baby victim to ensure its identity will remain a secret. The OPP also wouldn't give details of the alleged sexual activity involving the toddler and the dog, which was a pitbull, but said it was unsettling.
"It was extreme, very extreme behaviour," said Hayes. "Disturbing. Incomprehensible, just that someone is able to conduct this type of behaviour. A normal person can't even really comprehend that it's possible for someone to behave that way. This is very disturbing."
Police began investigating after a man called Saturday to report that he'd seen a woman online the night before performing the sex acts on a webcam feed. He originally called Windsor police. They contacted provincial police because the woman lived in Lakeshore, which is OPP territory.
The man had just met the suspect over the Internet.
"Then she had the webcam going," said Hayes.
He told police he saw the woman performing sex acts first with her dog, then with her young child. Despite having limited information about the woman, OPP officers were able to identify her, track her down at her home and arrest her. The officers turned the child over to the Children's Aid Society.
No other children appear to have been involved.
Police said they were able to quickly rescue the child and arrest the woman thanks to the person who tipped them off.
"This was all done very quickly as a result of the concerned citizen coming forward," said Hayes. "It all happened in the same day, fortunately for the child. The OPP definitely wants to give huge kudos and our sincere appreciation to the concerned citizen that did the right thing and didn't ignore what they observed on the Internet."
Hayes made a plea for others to follow that person's example.
"If anyone is aware of these types of behaviours, contact your local police service or Crime Stoppers immediately," she said. "The police will intervene immediately. Don't turn your head. Maybe it doesn't affect you, but some child is being abused. He did the right thing by notifying police immediately and ensuring this doesn't happen again to this child." References |
