hundreds have been charged Ontario Regarding a provincial strategy to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse on the Internet.
Ontario Provincial Police The (OPP) said that during October 27 police services conducted 255 investigations, executed 168 search warrants and seized 1,032 devices during the strategy, known as Project Maverick.
“In total, 428 charges were filed against 107 people,” police said in a news release on Wednesday.
Full list of accused persons can be obtained from Here.
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Officials said that during the investigation, 61 victims were identified and “referred to appropriate community-based resources for assistance.”
Police said another 60 children were protected.
Officials said there are 175 ongoing investigations where additional charges could be filed.
The project involved the Ministry of the Attorney General and Solicitor General, and 27 police agencies including Barrie, Durham, Guelph, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Niagara, Ottawa, Peterborough, York and Toronto.
“Since the provincial strategy was launched in 2006, it has completed 65,564 investigations and laid 24,608 charges against 6,540 people,” police said. “A total of 3,470 victims have been identified worldwide.”
Toronto Police said that during October, the force’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) team executed 24 search warrants, arrested 23 people and laid 96 criminal charges in 20 days.
Toronto Police (TPS) said 131 devices allegedly containing images of child sexual abuse and exploitation have been seized.
The force said 22 victims were identified and 10 children were protected.
“In one instance, TPS members, with the assistance of international partners, identified a person of interest on the dark web who was planning to abduct and abuse young children,” police said in a news release. “TPS and OPP members investigated the location of the accused and traveled to a remote town in Northern Ontario to execute a search warrant and make an arrest.”
The OPP said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about any child abuse investigation is asked to contact their local police.
-more to come…
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