Ontario police said they have arrested 64 suspects facing a total of 348 charges in a series of investigations into child sexual exploitation conducted across the province.
During a press conference held on Wednesday morning in Scarborough, police announced the arrest operation and provided more details on a cross-jurisdictional investigation named “Project Aquatic”.
According to authorities, the case was initiated in February 2024 and involved separate investigations of 129 instances of online sexual abuse content across the province.
Officer Tim Brown told reporters on Wednesday that as part of the investigation, the identities of 34 child victims have been confirmed. Additionally, 30 children have been “protected”, meaning they are being moved out of potential “dangerous situations”.
Police stated that over 600 digital devices were seized during the investigation.
Brown mentioned, “The arrested individuals range from teenagers to elderly people, and we have found offenders in various regions, industries, and age groups across the province.”
In one case, a person attempted to engage in sexual contact with a child during a meeting with undercover investigators. Another suspect was found to possess around 21TB of data, including materials related to child sexual abuse.
The Toronto police informed CP24 News that 13 suspects were arrested in the city, currently facing a total of 69 criminal charges.
“We are tirelessly working to constantly put pressure on those trying to harm our children. These dangers are not limited to the dark corners of the internet. Wherever children go, criminals follow,” Brown said.
Signy Arnason, Deputy CEO of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, stated that the reporting hotline for online child sexual abuse and exploitation, Cybertip.ca, receives approximately 2,000 to 3,000 reports per month.
“We are seeing a continual rise in adults exploiting children. These online communities share materials of child abuse and encourage each other, including sharing strategies, guidebooks, and more,” she said.
She noted that many individuals track specific victims, attempting to find them and even follow them into adulthood. Environments like the dark web facilitate such behavior, and the use of AI-generated imagery has exacerbated the problem.
She emphasized that governments need to take more actions and regulation to address this situation, and tech companies must do more to help protect children.
“We must protect online children as vigorously as we protect offline children. Tech companies holding too much power and sacrificing children’s interests for profit have seen the days of prioritizing child safety through voluntary action long gone,” she stated. “Prevention, swift removal of child sexual abuse materials, along with proper reviews and training, are crucial in combatting online exploitation and abuse of children.”