Close X
Thursday, January 9, 2025
ADVT 
National

80 People Arrested In Sweeping Ontario Child Online Exploitation Investigation

The Canadian Press, 28 Apr, 2016 11:11 AM
    TORONTO — Dozens of people are facing hundreds of charges after a massive, provincewide investigation into child sexual abuse in Ontario.
     
    Provincial police said the months-long investigation netted 80 alleged offenders who are now facing a total of 274 charges, adding more arrests are expected.
     
    The bulk of the charges relate to sexual assault, child pornography and exploitation, but police said several counts also concern drugs and weapons.
     
    OPP Chief Supt. Don Bell said Thursday the investigation involved collaboration with the RCMP, Canada Border Services Agency, United States Homeland Security, and 26 municipal police forces across Ontario.
     
    He said the wide range of ages and jurisdictions involved in the probe shines a light on how pervasive and devastating the problem is.
     
    "The most fundamental responsibility of any society is to protect our children. Every child has the right to be nurtured and to be safe," Bell told a news conference. "Every image of child pornography represents a child victim. Every trading or transmission of that image represents a revictimization of that child."
     
    From its inception in August 2006 to March 2016, Ontario's Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet has completed 32,808 investigations and laid 11,408 charges against 3,310 people, police said.
     
    During that period, 870 child victims were identified in Ontario, and another 173 internationally, OPP said.
     
     
    The 80 people charged in latest investigation range in age from 74 to a youth who cannot be named under the terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act and span the province from Ottawa to Windsor.
     
    Police said they identified 20 alleged victims over the course of the investigation who have been referred to community supports for help.
     
    The child pornography probe also overlapped with incidents connected to human trafficking, allowing police to release nine minors who had been forced into the sex trade against their will.
     
    Those children included 14, 15, and 16-year-olds, police said.
     
    In one incident flagged by Toronto police, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly befriended by two men who lured her with the promise of lucrative work, then shuttled her to hotels around the city to perform sexual services.
     
    Police allege the men also sexually assaulted her themselves in a vehicle. They are now facing a total of 15 charges and appear on the list of those arrested in the provincewide sweep, which involved executing 174 warrants.
     
    The OPP indicated that the number of people charged is expected to rise, adding they had made additional arrests on Thursday and expected more in the coming days. 
     
     
    But Bell said tackling the problem would involve more than simply laying charges.
     
    "We cannot arrest ourselves out of this phenomenon," he said. "Our community partners are extremely important. Our educators are extremely important. We have to create an awareness, and as parents we have to take ownership of our children."

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Name Of 'Domestic Violence Court' Constitutional; Man Claimed Discrimination

    A man who argued the name of Ontario's domestic violence court caused him distress and violated his rights has had his constitutional challenge thrown out.

    Name Of 'Domestic Violence Court' Constitutional; Man Claimed Discrimination

    Kelowna City Council Floats Ideas To Nix Image Of 'Lake Monster' Ogopogo

    Kelowna City Council Floats Ideas To Nix Image Of 'Lake Monster' Ogopogo
    KELOWNA, B.C. — Ogopogo could get the heave-ho if councillors in Kelowna, B.C., decide to ditch images of the mythical lake monster from its parade float.

    Kelowna City Council Floats Ideas To Nix Image Of 'Lake Monster' Ogopogo

    No Appeal Of Jian Ghomeshi Sex-assault And Choking Acquittal, Crown Says

    No Appeal Of Jian Ghomeshi Sex-assault And Choking Acquittal, Crown Says
    The prosecution has decided against appealing the acquittal of former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi on sexual-assault and choking charges last month, a spokesman for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General said Monday.

    No Appeal Of Jian Ghomeshi Sex-assault And Choking Acquittal, Crown Says

    Man Takes Fight Over Airline's Treatment Of Overweight Passengers To Court

    Man Takes Fight Over Airline's Treatment Of Overweight Passengers To Court
    Gabor Lukacs told the three-member panel that the Canadian Transportation Agency should hear his complaint about the way Delta Air Lines asks large passengers to move to another seat, take a later flight or buy an additional seat

    Man Takes Fight Over Airline's Treatment Of Overweight Passengers To Court

    Equipment Failure Caused Horse-drawn Buggy Crash That Injured Eight: Police

    Equipment Failure Caused Horse-drawn Buggy Crash That Injured Eight: Police
    Ontario Provincial Police say equipment failure caused a horse-drawn buggy crash that injured eight and left a toddler with serious injuries.

    Equipment Failure Caused Horse-drawn Buggy Crash That Injured Eight: Police

    Yukon River Ice Breakup Shatters Previous Record For Spring Thaw

    Yukon River Ice Breakup Shatters Previous Record For Spring Thaw
    DAWSON CITY, Yukon — Residents of Yukon have experienced something that has only happened a handful of times in the last 120 years.

    Yukon River Ice Breakup Shatters Previous Record For Spring Thaw