Newmarket-stationed

RCMP officer facing

child porn charges
Newmarket Era Jan 15, 2015
By Jeremy Grimaldi
The parents of a York Region air cadet have reacted
angrily after discovering their sons former instructor has
been charged with child pornography offences.
Grace and Gilson Santos of Vaughan said Air Cadet Maj.
Collin Christopher Scott, 48, who was charged with child
pornography offences last week, was their sons
commander in Woodbridge for at least four years and
was instructing children as young as 12 years old.
Reading the details made me very sick, even more to
know that my son was around this (man), the email
sent to York Region Media Group read. I believe that
parents of children that were around him, sometimes
alone, should know about it and be able to talk to their
kids.
Scott was not the only man charged as part of an OPP probe.
Also charged was RCMP officer Michael Thomander, 39, who was stationed at the Mounties
Newmarket offices, on Harry Walker Parkway South, according to a source, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity.
A third man, Anthony Pitocco, was also charged.

The trio, all from Barrie, were released on bail by the court earlier this week.
In light of the allegations against Scott, one organization associated with the Air Cadets spoke
out, advising the public of their efforts to ensure the safety of the children enrolled in the
cadets.
The Air Cadet League, which insisted that while Scott is a member of the Canadian Forces, he is
not a part of the league, said it has stringent rules in place to ensure the safety of the children
involved in the program.
(We) will continue toensure that individuals involved with the Air Cadets have been fully
screened to ensure the safety and health of the young men and women who participate in the
Air Cadet program in Ontario, the release stated.
OPP Det.-Sgt. Terry Paddon said police searched Scotts home and seized three computers
containing electronic evidence.
Seven other computers allegedly containing stills and videos were seized from the other two
residences.
Paddon said the OPP was alerted after investigators discovered Scott was sharing images with
an American citizen and were tipped off by the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children
Task Force.
He added that Scott, Thomander or Pitocco did not know each other.
There is no relation, other than they were sharing images over the Internet. Theyre just
making them available, Paddon said. However, two individuals lived a couple of houses
apart.
He further stressed how big of a problem child pornography is becoming in the digital age.
When we do provincewide sweeps, we see significant numbers of computers sharing images
hundreds of computers sharing images on any given day, he added.
Capt. Cory Lohnes, public affairs officer with the Air Cadets, said he held a meeting with 130
cadets and their parents on Monday about Scotts charges and said the organization will be
conducting an administrative review after the OPP is done with its investigation.
He added that Scott was a commanding officer and may have been in contact with thousands of
children throughout his decades-long career and that he was in charge of 160 boys and girls as
part of his duties.

Capt. Lohnes also said a full investigation will not be conducted because he is very confident
the organizations reporting strategy would result in someone coming forward had anything
untoward occurred.
There is no evidence that it involved the cadets, he said. If there was any indication it did
involve cadets, were very confident that they would report it.
Scott has been suspended from the organization, ordered not to have contact with cadets and
is not receiving pay, he added.
Thomander is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, one count of
accessing child pornography and one count of making available child pornography.
Scott is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of
transmitting child pornography.
Pitocco is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, one count of accessing
child pornography and one count of making available child pornography.
Thomander is set to stand before the court again Feb. 2, while Scott and Pitocco will be back in
court Feb. 9.
with files from Janis Ramsay, Barrie Advance

Jeremy Grimaldi is the Crime and Justice Reporter with York Region.com. He can be reached at
jgrimaldi@yrmg.com . Follow him on Twitter and York Region Media Group on Facebook