Police charge 107 people in massive Ontario child exploitation investigation
A massive Ontario-wide investigation into child exploitation has led to more than 100 people being charged, police announced on Wednesday.
Project Maverick was conducted in October as part of the "Provincial Strategy to Protect Children From Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet."
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) collaborated with 27 policing partners, including Toronto, Peel, Durham, Hamilton and Ottawa for the endeavour. The attorney general and solicitor general also assisted with the initiative.
“Through projects like these, we're able to work together crossing borders and jurisdictions not only provincially but globally as well,” Toronto police Det. Sgt. Barb Adam said at a news conference Wednesday morning at Toronto police headquarters.
Across the province, police services conducted a total of 277 investigations throughout October. They executed 168 search warrants and seized 1,032 devices. In total, 428 charges were laid against 107 people in the month-long initiative.
“These numbers are shocking, but they provide hope by showing the lengths our teams are willing to go to protect children,” OPP Chief Superintendent Kari Dart said in a statement.
A total of 27 police services are included in the Provincial Strategy to Protect Children From Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet. (OPP Handout)
Project Maverick identified a total of 61 victims and an additional 60 children were safeguarded, as they were at increased risk of exploitation. There are 175 ongoing investigations where additional charges may be laid.
A full list of charges laid in Project Maverick can be found here.
Toronto police say their service conducted 24 search warrants in 20 days, arrested 23 people and laid a total of 96 criminal charges in the initiative. The police service also seized 131 devices containing images of child sexual abuse and exploitation, identified 22 victims and safeguarded 10 children.
“These offences include possession, accessing, importing, distribution and the making of child pornography, luring a person under 16, invitation to sexual touching, sexual assault, sexual interference and failing to comply with court order,” Adam said.
In one instance, Toronto police were able to identify a person of interest online who was allegedly planning to kidnap and abuse young children, Adam said.
“TPS and OPP members investigated the information and were able to identify the accused in his location. A team consisting of both TPS and OPP investigators travelled to a remote northern Ontario town, executed two search warrants and made an arrest,” she said.
Adam added that there were some repeat offenders arrested by Toronto police. A list of the accused charged in Toronto can be found here.
Toronto police Det. Sgt. Barb Adam speaks at a news conference on Project Maverick on Nov. 30, 2022.
The arrests come as police say sextortion and self-exploitation among children and teens are on the rise.
Sextortion occurs when an individual meets victims on social media and convinces the victims to share sexual images or videos with them. Police say threats are made to the victims if they do not provide more sexual content or some form of payment.
“Sextortions have increased dramatically around the globe in the past few years. Recently, we've seen a shift to an increase in the number of young teenage boys being targeted,” Adam said.
Since the provincial strategy began in 2006, police have laid more than 24,600 charges against 6,540 people.
Authorities are asking anyone with information about the abuse of a child to contact their local police force, call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit cybertip.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.