Nine arrested in alleged sex assaults on 7-year-old girl

HAMILTON — A six-month investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a seven-year-old girl is being called “one of the most heinous crimes” Hamilton police officers have had to deal with.

The investigation left nine people in handcuffs, including the child’s mother and her boyfriend, as police said they uncovered a “horrific” sexual assault where the girl was allegedly being offered up “to be sexually assaulted” in an online advertisement.

Det. Sgt. David Dunbar, with the Hamilton police victims of crime branch, said the investigation that began last May after the force received a tip from the Catholic Children’s Aid Society in Hamilton has left many officers struggling.

“It’s a very unique case because we’re not used to a victimization of this nature — it’s really graphic,” Dunbar said.

“It’s one of the worst, most heinous crimes we’ve seen because we’ve got multiple offenders and one young victim.”

The investigation, dubbed Project Links, started after the tip when officers interviewed the girl and she told them she was being sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend, he said.

Officers seized numerous electronic devices during two raids warrants that contained many “horrific, awful” images of the girl, Dunbar alleged.

“We uncovered a young female victim who was sexually assaulted by more than one person and made available to be sexually assaulted through Craigslist,” Dunbar said at a news conference.

The girl’s mother, 39, is charged with failing to provide the necessities of life to a child.