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Pornography charges rattle area village

A 68-year-old Abernethy man will appear in court in Fort Qu'Appelle for a May 18 preliminary in connection with what's described as one of the largest Internet pedophile rings in history.

A 68-year-old Abernethy man will appear in court in Fort Qu'Appelle for a May 18 preliminary in connection with what's described as one of the largest Internet pedophile rings in history.

Meanwhile, many of the 200 residents of Abernethy are shocked by the news David John Lapage who lives northeast of the village was among 184 suspects arrested in the project called Operation Rescue which involved police forces from Canada, Britain, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and several other countries.

Lapage was arrested in November 2009 and faces three charges including possession of child abuse images, accessing child abuse images and making available child abuse images.

Release by police last Wednesday of the news of the charges against Lapage has dominated conversation in Abernethy.

"It was a shock to a lot of people," Abernethy Mayor Janet Englot says.

"We didn't know too much about the incident until it was released Wednesday so it wasn't public knowledge until that time."

While there has been some concern residents should have made aware of Lapage's charges earlier, Englot says she can understand the need for no publicity so as not to jeopardize the ongoing investigation.

Lapage, who lives northeast of Abernethy, seems to be a somewhat mysterious figure, having kept a low profile in the village according to long-time resident Nelle Penny. Other than him making a few shopping excursions to the local grocery story, residents didn't see much of Lapage, Penny adds.

While there's an adage 'Bad publicity is better than no publicity', that doesn't seem to be the sentiment of residents, Penny explains.

"We are definitely getting publicity that isn't (welcome). We feel we're getting a bit of unfair publicity because (Lapage and his presumed partner) didn't live in town... People have been phoning from all over (asking) 'Who is this and what is happening in Abernethy' and nobody knows too much about these people'."

Lapage's arrest results from what police say was a three-year investigation that targeted an online forum called "boylover.net" that had spread to 30 countries with 70,000 members. The forum was based in the Netherlands.

According to Europol, the European Union police agency, 670 suspects ranging in age from 17 to 82 have been identified so far and come from a variety of backgrounds including police officers, teachers and Boy Scout leaders.

Of the 184 worldwide arrests, only one other Canadian - 40-year-old Phillip Publuske - was caught in the net. He was arrested in Kitchener, Ontario last November and charged with distribution and possession of child pornography.

The "boylover.net" website, according to published reports, "offered people the chance to discuss their interest in young boys without committing any offenses", but "below the radar" they used private networks to exchange illegal images and films of children being abused."