348 Arrested, 386 Kids Saved in Huge Child Porn Bust

Nearly 350 people, including schoolteachers, doctors, and actors, have been arrested around the world in what Toronto police called one of the largest child porn busts they have ever seen. Police say 386 children were rescued as a result of the sweeping investigation. More than 100 people were arrested in Canada, 76 in the US, and 55 in Australia in an investigation dubbed Project Spade. Others were arrested elsewhere in a probe that involved more than 50 countries, including Spain, Mexico, Norway, and Greece.

"It is alleged that officers seized hundreds of thousands of videos detailing horrific sexual acts against very young children, some of the worst that they have ever viewed," a police spokeswoman says. The investigation began with a Toronto man accused of running a company that distributed child pornography videos. Police says Brian Way, 42, instructed people around the world to create videos of children ranging from 5 to 12 years of age, then distributed the videos to international customers. He has been charged with 24 offenses, including child pornography, and has been in jail since 2011 awaiting trial. (More child sexual abuse material stories.)