Toronto man faces 96 charges in sex assault investigation

A man who allegedly lured and exploited children across Ontario both in person and online is facing 96 charges in a sexual assault investigation, Toronto police said Wednesday as they urged more potential victims to come forward.

Police said Daniel Langdon, 31, created multiple aliases on at least eight different social media applications, such as Snapchat and TikTok, and edited photos of himself to appear younger before allegedly luring children and teens.

Investigators said the youngest alleged victim is believed to be a seven-year-old who was allegedly assaulted at a local park while the oldest was a 17-year-old.

“There are multiple young victims,” Det. Vijay Shetty said during a news conference on Wednesday.

Shetty said police began investigating after getting a tip in December from police in Thunder Bay, Ont., about a luring and sexual assault case involving a young person.

Two months later, Shetty said, police issued multiple search warrants at a northwest Toronto home where investigators found several electronic devices containing a large amount of sexual exploitation material and evidence of other abuse.

Langdon was arrested Feb. 7 and faces a total of 96 charges so far, police said.

The alleged offences took place between April 2021 and February, police said.

The charges include 39 counts of sexual assault, 39 counts of sexual interference, five counts of making child pornography, eight counts of administering a noxious substances and one count of luring, Shetty said.

Police believe there are more alleged victims and want them to come forward, Shetty said.