Two Guelph men and one from Fergus are among 64 people facing 348 charges resulting from a major child exploitation investigation involving Ontario Provincial Police and 27 participating police agencies including Waterloo Regional Police Service.
A 20-year-old Guelph man was charged with possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography and distribution of child pornography.
A 55-year-old Guelph man was charged with possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography and distribution of child pornography
A 64-year-old Fergus man was charged with five counts of luring a person under 16 and two counts of making sexually explicit material available.
The investigation, called Project Aquatic, began on Feb. 19 and ended Feb. 29, and was led by members of the OPP's Provincial Strategy to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the Internet (Provincial ICE [Internet Child Exploitation] Strategy).
Identified victims were provided victim support, and impacted children were safeguarded.
As a result of Project Aquatic:
- 34 victims were identified
- 30 children were safeguarded
- 64 people were charged
- 348 charges were laid
- 607 electronic devices were seized
Notably, during the investigation, one individual set up a meeting with undercover investigators intending to meet with a child in real life for a sexual purpose.
Another individual was in possession of approximately 21 terabytes of data containing child sexual abuse material.
Project AQUATIC https://t.co/fBMOlLIB9z
— Ontario Provincial Police (@OPP_News) May 8, 2024
During the media event this morning, a human-sized graphic displayed an iceberg, showing the 129 investigations completed during Project Aquatic and the 8,638 investigations completed in 2023 above the surface.
Police said between the 27 police services involved they've completed 82,082 internet child exploitation investigations between 2006 and 2023, representing the bottom of the iceberg beneath the water.
Within that period, 29,025 charges were laid against 7,493 people.
Police said the investigations demonstrate the scope of the issue regarding child sexual abuse material, which remains a pervasive safety issue that is often unseen by many members of the public.
Police also acknowledged the significant contributions of parents, educators, child advocacy organizations, government and technology providers in combating this issue.
Police urge everyone to remain vigilant and to intensify their involvement to further strengthen the collective effort to protect children from victimization.
Members of the public are invited to learn about how to keep children safe at Canadian Centre for Child Protection or cybertip.ca.
"Our collective strength lies in our ongoing commitment to protect children from the impacts of sexual exploitation. Through the Provincial ICE Strategy, we stand together in supporting victims, preventing victimization, and dismantling predatory activities. We are unrelenting in our mission to safeguard children and hold perpetrators accountable," said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique in a press release.
