Quebecer convicted thanks to the FBI: the Kik application, a “paradise for child predators”

A man from Abitibi-Témiscamingue has been arrested by the FBI for distributing violent child pornography involving children aged 4 to 8 on Kik, an application that is gaining popularity in Quebec and which is described as a “predator’s paradise.”

• Also read: Guilty of a twisted plan: a pedophile disguised as a babysitter

“We have indeed seen more reports in Quebec since the beginning of the year for this type of crime on Kik. It must be said that it comes in waves,” confirms Journal Laura Comeau, detective sergeant at the Longueuil Agglomeration Police Service (SPAL).

According to M^me Comeau, 128 cases related to sexual crimes on Kik were recorded in 2023 across the province. The expert states, however, that this platform is still little known in our country and that it only represents 10% of reports to SPAL.

Kik is similar to the apps Telegram and WhatsApp. The platform is filled with chat rooms where users can privately transmit illicit messages, photos and videos. No phone number is required to use the service, making Kik attractive to criminals who sign up with a fake email address.

“There is child luring on almost all applications, but less on Kik. It is mainly the sharing of child pornography with intense videos between users. We are not in the typical case here of the pedophile who writes to a child to lure him,” notes Laura Comeau.

71 documents at his home

The case of 26-year-old Tory Gauthier from Témiscamingue confirms the detective sergeant’s comments. He was recently convicted of distributing child pornography on the Kik app.

In total, 71 illegal documents were found on his computer and cell phone in 2021. The discovery was made by a dozen police officers who showed up without warning, around 7 a.m., at his residence in Kipawa in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

“The seized files show degrading scenes, some of which involve very young children. [entre 4 et 8 ans] as well as acts of penetration by adults towards victims and acts of fellatio by children on adults,” we can read in the judgment of the Court of Quebec.

“Even if they smile”

Gauthier was unmasked during a “covert operation” by an FBI agent on Kik, an application described as a “predator’s paradise” by American media outlets such as CBS. The Quebecer was looking for videos of “painful” child molestation and “rapes,” according to the court. He got off with 10 months of house arrest.

Among the factors that mitigated his sentence, Judge Jacques Ladouceur described “cognitive limitations that contributed to the act.” He said Tory Gauthier now understands that the victims in the videos are real children who were assaulted, “even if they smile in some cases.”

“He actually understood when he was given the example. [de] if it happened to his 3-year-old niece, his sister’s young daughter.” He mentions: “it’s the worst case I can think of,” adds the magistrate.

Be careful

The Longueuil police sex crimes detective sergeant also invites parents to talk with their children and monitor what they do online.

“A good parent would never let their very young child walk alone in the street or in a park before knowing that it is safe for them. It should be the same with the internet, where there are thousands of strangers on these platforms,” ​​insists Laura Comeau.

According to the latest report from the American company Bark, the Kik platform was, in 2023, the most denounced application for its large amount of sexual content to which children were exposed.

“The potential for predators is huge with Kik, which is why it is definitely not a messaging app for kids,” reads the report from the company that specializes in online parental control software.

QUEBECERS ACCUSED IN CONNECTION WITH KIK:

1. : Tory Gauthier, 26, was charged with distributing child pornography files on the Kik app. His sentence: 10 months at home.

2. : A young father from Sherbrooke was caught by the Sûreté du Québec for having uploaded a hundred files of child pornography on Kik.

3. : A father from Trois-Rivières is sentenced to three years in prison for, among other things, being unmasked on Kik with a file containing child pornography.

4. : Yan Simard, from Val-d’Or, is found guilty of sharing illegal files on Kik showing young girls aged 5 to 12.