Arthur Leland Sayler - one of the most dangerous pedophiles in the world

Mexican authorities are alleging that Sayler is one of the most dangerous pedophiles in the world, running a massive file-sharing network with users in Canada and the U.S.

Mexican police say they seized 15 hard drives containing four million images and videos of children involved in sex acts.


Local cops are closely watching what U.S. media are calling one of the worst child- porn cases ever as it unfolds in Mexico.

Edmonton police Staff Sgt. Howard Kunce of the Integrated Child Exploitation Unit said it will likely take a couple of weeks for Mexican and Canadian federal cops to sort through the mountain of evidence seized last week from a Tijuana beachfront home belonging to Canadian Arthur Leland Sayler.

Mexican police say they seized 15 hard drives containing four million images and videos of children involved in sex acts.

"That would be a record-breaker," Kunce said.

Mexican authorities are alleging that Sayler is one of the most dangerous pedophiles in the world, running a massive file-sharing network with users in Canada and the U.S.

He was born in Canada (as of last night his hometown wasn't known), but has been living in Tijuana for 20 years. A computer repairman by trade, he commuted daily across the U.S. into San Diego, Calif. to work.

People living near him described Sayler as a good, quiet neighbour who minded his own business. One neighbour even told a television reporter that his own kids would hang out at Sayler's house.

Yesterday Sayler was being held in a Tijuana cell, but he's expected to be moved to a high-security jail in Mexico City. He faces a life sentence in Mexico.

While the sheer number of stomach-churning images and videos in this case is huge, "it's not as staggering as you might think," says Julian Sher, author of One Child At A Time - The Global Fight to Rescue The Victims of Web Porn, which features Alberta's ICE team.

"Technology is developing so rapidly," Sher explained. "Storage capacity is huge. Pedophiles are storing massive collections of child pornography on their Xboxes and iPhones."

Pedophiles are even keeping their collections on wireless hard drives which are hidden inside walls, so if police seize their computers they can't find the porn.

Sher warned that police will keep finding larger and larger collections.

"These predators are rarely in it for the money," he said.

"For the pedophiles that I've interviewed, the value and prestige are in the size of the collections. It's like hockey cards."

Sher hopes that this case will serve as a wake-up call to the public.

"Hopefully, it will serve as a reminder of the scope of these abuse images and how easy it is to build up the collections," he said. "It's a global crime that knows no boundaries."

He added, "these crimes cannot be solved on the Internet. They've got to be solved by educating kids and their parents, and having much better safety measures."

Sher said there's software available in England that gives computer users a "9-1-1 button" and an instant connection with local police. Anyone surfing the web who comes across something illegal can report it to cops instantly.

"We need software like that here," he said.

In international cases like this, Kunce explained, Mexican authorities would liaise with the RCMP's National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre in Ottawa. Officials at the centre would then contact regional ICE units to investigate any local leads, conduct searches or make arrests in their area.