Christopher Charles Ingvaldson, 40, a teacher at St. George's School in Vancouver, faces child pornography charges. (fieldhockey.ca)

A former Vancouver private school teacher and a resident of Kelowna, B.C., have been linked by police to an international child pornography ring that operated through Facebook.

Police said Friday that former St. George's School teacher Christopher Charles Ingvaldson, 40, who was charged with four counts of possession and distribution of child pornography in June, was part of the larger operation.

Ingvaldson used to teach social studies at the exclusive private school for boys, located in south Vancouver, until he was arrested in June and charged, according to Sgt. Tony Cavezza.

"We believe he was accessing the internet both at school and at his house in Vancouver, and Facebook — it appears that there was an account started by the suspects in Australia," said Cavezza.

The second suspect was arrested in Kelowna, B.C., and released without charges because of lack of evidence, but the investigation is continuing, said police.

In total, 11 people were arrested, including six in Britain and three in Australia, police in Australia said Friday.

Sgt. Lana Prosper, head of the victim identification unit at the RCMP's Child Exploitation Centre, told CBC News more charges against other Canadians are possible.

"There are more files being investigated in Canada," Prosper said. "Whether they lead to charges or not would be up to those specific agencies."

Facebook probe starts in Australia

The Canadians do not appear to be "hands-on offenders" in the images and videos police have examined so far, and there is no indication any of the victims are in Canada, Prosper said.

Facebook deactivated the accounts of the initial suspects, but within hours, the groups re-formed, police say. (CBC)

U.K. police have already identified and rescued two of the children who appear in the videos and photos.

The Australian Federal Police force said it began the investigation in March in conjunction with the RCMP, British authorities and the FBI.

A covert Australian officer established an identity on Facebook and was approached by one of the suspects, which led the officer to the alleged network, police said.

The Australian force said Facebook deactivated the accounts of the initial suspects, but within hours, the groups re-formed under new accounts.

The Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children was tipped to the investigation once it became clear there were Canadians involved, said Prosper.

'Create their own little group'

The Facebook connection came as no big surprise to authorities.

"What happened in particular with this group is not much different than we’ve seen in other social mediums; they find each other on Facebook and create their own little group," Prosper said in an interview from Ottawa.

"The people that are out there doing this are trying to find any medium available on the internet. It's Facebook today; it could be something else tomorrow.

"It's how they can communicate and share without being caught, basically."

Prosper said it was important for both the public and those who prey on children to know that more than ever, police from different countries are working together on such cases.

"In the past, six, seven years ago maybe, our co-operation wasn't there because we didn't know who to contact," she said.

"Now, we fully co-operate internationally with our law enforcement partners. That's the only way we're going to combat this: work together and infiltrate these groups on the internet. We'll find them."

The continued circulation of the images "re-victimizes" the children, Prosper added.

With files from The Canadian Press