Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

OPP’s Project Time Nets 63 Arrests in Provincewide Child‑Exploitation Probe

Police say the operation exposes a rising online child‑exploitation problem that will require broader public, industry and government action.

A person types on a computer keyboard in North Vancouver, B.C., on Dec., 19, 2012.
Two Sudburians are among 63 people across Ontario who have been arrested in a province-wide online child exploitation investigation.
Image

Overview

  • The Ontario Provincial Police said Wednesday that Project Time, a month‑long joint operation with 25 local forces, produced 63 arrests, 213 charges, 51 identified victims and the seizure of 814 electronic devices.
  • Investigators opened 264 criminal probes as part of the operation and said about 150 of those investigations remain active, with extensive digital forensics still under way.
  • The accused range in age from teens to seniors and include juveniles, people in positions of trust and several repeat offenders; some suspects remain in custody while others have been released and are scheduled to appear in court.
  • Police urged parents, educators, child‑advocacy groups, technology companies and governments to help prevent and report online abuse and directed the public to report tips to local police or Cybertip.ca.
  • Project Time was run under the Provincial Internet Child Exploitation Strategy, a program launched in 2006 that the OPP says has contributed to more than 6,000 arrests and that officials say highlights the growing scale and complexity of online exploitation.