A Boy Scout leader has been charged with possessing and making child pornography after police seized thousands of "evil and despicable" movies and pictures at a Scarborough home.

The arrest came after a man brought his computer into a Scarborough computer store to be repaired, police said.

During the repairs, staff at the store found child pornography and notified the sex crimes unit Wednesday.

Scouts Canada, based in Ottawa issued a statement saying it was "very disturbed" by the arrest and immediately suspended the Scout leader.

Spokesperson Jennifer Austin said the man was a leader with the Bendale Scout Troop.

He was also a camp volunteer at Adventureland (Scout camp) at Woodland Trails in Aurora from 1997 to 2002 and a member of the Medical Venturers, a volunteer organization affiliated with City of Toronto Emergency Medical Services, police said.

"Evil and despicable images of child abuse" were found and "we're pretty concerned about this," said Detective Sergeant Paul Gillespie.

"There is no indication there have been any assaults against anybody in the Scout troops, although it is very early in the investigation.

"When we have individuals who collect child pornography that's obviously a warning sign that other things may have been occurring," Gillespie said.

Ian Mole, 20, of Scarborough has been charged with possession of child pornography and making child pornography.

Ian Mole - Toronto Police, Thursday, February 26, 2004

TORONTO -- The leader of a Boy Scout troop appeared in court Thursday accused of making and possessing child pornography.

Ian Mole, a 20-year-old scout leader with the Bendale troop, made a brief court appearance and was put in custody.

He was charged after staff at a computer store found child pornography on a computer that had been brought in for repairs, police said Thursday.

Members of the sex-crimes unit searched a home Wednesday and seized two computers and some child pornography.

Mole was a volunteer at Adventureland, a scout camp, at Woodland Trails in Aurora, Ont., from 1997 to 2002.

He also is a member of the Medical Venturers, a volunteer organization affiliated with the City of Toronto's Emergency Medical Services.
 

Toronto scout leader faces kiddie porn charges

CTV.ca News Staff

The leader of a Toronto-area Boy Scout troop appeared in court Thursday, charged with creation and possession of child pornography.

Ian Mole, a 20-year-old leader of the Bendale Scout Troop, was in court briefly to hear the charges, before being put into custody.

According to police, the charges stem from a computer he took to a store for repair was found to contain child pornography.

Staff at the store notified police, who dispatched the sex crimes unit to search the home of the accused on Wednesday.

Their search uncovered two more computers and tens of thousands of movies and images depicting children in pornographic depictions.

A Toronto Police detective told CTV's Toronto affiliate that the investigation is trying to take worried parents' concerns into account.

"Because of the obvious access to children we feel it's important we conduct a thorough investigation," he told CFTO News.

Anyone who has had contact with the accused is asked to phone the police at .

Besides his activity as a scout leader, Mole was a volunteer at the scout camp, Adventureland, at Woodland Trails in Aurora, Ont., from 1997 to 2002.

In a statement responding to the allegations, Ottawa-based Scouts Canada said it was "very disturbed" and had moved to immediately suspend the Scout leader.

The Canadian Press reports that Mole is also a member of the Medical Venturers, a volunteer organization affiliated with the City of Toronto's Emergency Medical Services.