Pornographic images found on Kitchener elementary school playground
The Waterloo Regional Police Service is investigating after pornographic images, some of young children, were found on a playground at a Kitchener elementary school.
The pictures, described as "printed camera images" by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board, were discovered Thursday by children at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School on East Avenue.
There were 10 pornographic images in total. Seven of them depicted young girls believed to be between the ages of four and seven.
"These images were incredibly disturbing for the children who did find them," said Const. Andre Johnson.
John Shewchuck, the Chief Managing Officer for the WCDSB, released a statement to CTV News saying, in part: "School staff have spoken with the families of all the children who saw the images (as well as the children themselves), and continue to be available to offer support to anyone who may need it."
A letter to parents, signed by the principal and vice-principal, added: "Going forward, we will continue to monitor the school yard diligently to help guard against having a recurrence of this issue."
"At this point I don't have any information that any of the children were directly targeted," said Cont. Johnson. "Clearly, this was left on the playground at the school, which is a cause for concern."
Members of the Cybercrime, Major Crime and Forensic Identification Units are now investigating the matter, in collaboration with school officials.
"We are appealing to the community for anyone with any information whatsoever," said Const. Johnson. "There are folks who may think that the information that they have is insignificant, but I can tell you any piece will definitely help in solving this and finding the person responsible."
Police said it isn't the first time pornographic images have been found at the school. Images of adults were found in November, said Const. Johnson. Police are working to determine if the two incidents are connected.
They are specifically looking for video surveillance taken between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Jan. 20.
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