More than 100 people were charged in an Ontario-wide investigation into child exploitation, dubbed Operation MAVERICK, police announced Wednesday..“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 at Toronto police headquarters..The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), along with 27 policing partners, identified a total of 61 victims through Operation MAVERICK. An additional 60 children were safeguarded, as they were at increased risk of exploitation. Additional charges could be laid in an additional 175 ongoing investigations..The Toronto Police Service (TPS) conducted 24 search warrants over the course of 20 days, arresting 23 people and laying 96 criminal charges. 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..Adam said the Toronto police were able to identify a person of interest online who was allegedly planning to kidnap and abuse children..“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..In a statement, OPP Chief Supt. Kari Dart said the numbers were "shocking," but provide hope by showing how far police teams are willing to go to protect children..Police say the arrests came as sextortion cases involving children and teens are on the rise. This occurs when a victim is convinced to share sexual images or videos with a perpetrator, and are told these will be shared if they do not provide more sexual content or a type 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 Ontario's Provincial Strategy to Protect Children From Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet began in 2006, it has completed 65,564 investigations and laid 24,608 charges against 6,540 people. A total of 3,470 victims have also been identified worldwide..Authorities are asking that 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.
More than 100 people were charged in an Ontario-wide investigation into child exploitation, dubbed Operation MAVERICK, police announced Wednesday..“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 at Toronto police headquarters..The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), along with 27 policing partners, identified a total of 61 victims through Operation MAVERICK. An additional 60 children were safeguarded, as they were at increased risk of exploitation. Additional charges could be laid in an additional 175 ongoing investigations..The Toronto Police Service (TPS) conducted 24 search warrants over the course of 20 days, arresting 23 people and laying 96 criminal charges. 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..Adam said the Toronto police were able to identify a person of interest online who was allegedly planning to kidnap and abuse children..“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..In a statement, OPP Chief Supt. Kari Dart said the numbers were "shocking," but provide hope by showing how far police teams are willing to go to protect children..Police say the arrests came as sextortion cases involving children and teens are on the rise. This occurs when a victim is convinced to share sexual images or videos with a perpetrator, and are told these will be shared if they do not provide more sexual content or a type 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 Ontario's Provincial Strategy to Protect Children From Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet began in 2006, it has completed 65,564 investigations and laid 24,608 charges against 6,540 people. A total of 3,470 victims have also been identified worldwide..Authorities are asking that 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.
