The record, 18 juin 2003, mercredi 18 juin 2003

The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 70 CENTS WWW.SHERBROOKERECORD.COM Wednesday, June 18, 2003 Asbestos man arrested for Internet child pom Sherbrooke A 55-year-old man from the Asbestos area, who was using children in his entourage to produce pornographic pictures and videos to distribute on the Internet, has been arrested after a Cyberspace investigation that began in France.The suspect, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of his young victims, is expected to be changed at the Sherbrooke courthouse this morning with producing and distributing child pornography, said Sûreté du Quebec spokesman Louis-Philippe Ruel.The victims, three young girls who were close to the suspect, were remanded into the custody of child protection authorities yesterday afternoon.Ruel could not say how old the children are or what their relationship to the suspect is.“We want to protect the children as much as possible from the repercussions of the case," Ruel said, adding that the young victims will be met by police investigators in the next few days.The investigation began when French police uncovered pornographic material that seemed to be coming from Quebec.French authorities contacted the Cyberspace crime unit of the Sûreté du Québec in Montreal which eventually traced the material to a home in the Asbestos area.On Tuesday investigators from Montreal, the regional crime investigation unit and the Asbestos MRC descended upon the suspect’s home where the man was arrested.Yesterday’s raid, which went well into the evening, sought to recoup as much ev- idence as possible.By the end of the day, police likely seized the suspect’s computer and any other material used to produce and disseminate the pornographic material.In the meantime, the presumed pedophile was brought to SQheadquarters in Sherbrooke for questioning.The suspect was expected to be transferred to Talbot jail to cool his heels overnight while awaiting a court appearance this morning.The man, who was not known to police, didn’t have a criminal record.Eyes that Bind PERRY BEATON/SPECIAl Sandra Turgeon of the Mira Foundation in Sherbrooke said that, while the organization provides dogs free of charge to the visually impaired from around the world, the dogs are hardly free at the start.“We had a garage sale fundraiser last summer,” she said, “and we were able to raise about $17,000.That’s enough for us to buy one dog.” For the full story, please see Page 5.SARS scare scuttles seniors’ shopping spree Prescription drug trip to Canada cancelled By Debbie Tacium Ladry Record Correspondent A proposed trip to Quebec in early July by a group of Vermont seniors, accompanied by state Congressman Bernie Sanders, was recently cancelled due to the Canadian connection with SARS.The seniors had been hoping to fill their prescriptions and purchase cheaper Canadian pharmaceutical products.A number of trips had been planned by individual Congress members across the Northern U.S., but fears of the respiratory virus, especially with regard to the already fragile health of many seniors, has put the entire plan on ice.At least for the moment.“Unfortunately, these trips have been completely cancelled,” said Michael Behan, legislative assistant to Congressman Sanders.“We can’t mobilize the whole U.S.to change people’s minds about this issue.The Congressman could make a trip, with or without seniors in the future, but there are no immediate plans.” The ever-increasing price of pharma-ceuticals, coupled with rising Medicare costs and the plethora of new drugs Please see drugspage 8 RECORD NEWSiS» l