Four men arrested following undercover investigation into child sexual exploitation
WATERLOO REGION — Four men from the region are facing charges related to sexual exploitation of children after officers went undercover as children in online chat rooms.
The investigation, called Project Derby, took place Nov. 17-19 last year and involved six officers. Members of Waterloo Regional Police teamed with Ontario Provincial Police investigators to focus on identifying people actively luring children on social media for sexual purposes.
Over the three days, investigators communicated with dozens of people. Of those conversations, there were 36 that went beyond simple introductions, even after those individuals became aware the person they were speaking to was underage. Some of the messaging included inappropriate sexualized content, but only four of the conversations crossed the line into committing a criminal offence.
Three of the men were arrested when they arrived at locations to meet the child for a sexual purpose, with one travelling from another jurisdiction.
OPP Det. Sgt. Brian McDermott said meeting in person wasn’t a required element for committing the offence. The one man who wasn’t arrested trying to meet with the child was identified and arrested through other means.
McDermott said there are no further leads to be followed up from this investigation.
“As children are spending more time online during the COVID-19 pandemic, so too are the predators attempting to exploit them,” he said in an online announcement on Wednesday.
“Our experience demonstrates that offenders often target and lure multiple victims at the same time,” he said.
Cybertip.ca, a national tip line for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children, has seen an 88 per cent increase in reports of online sexual exploitation of children since April 1, 2020. These reports include children receiving sexual messages or images/ videos from adults online, and being coerced into sending images/videos or engaging in sexual activity.
Insp. Brenna Bonn with Waterloo Regional Police said parents and caregivers should make themselves aware of their child’s social media activity.
“This type of child sexual exploitation can happen at any time on any type of online social media platform,” she said. “Online child sexual exploitation is one of the most disturbing public safety issues facing society today.”
Three men from Kitchener and one man from Cambridge are facing charges.
A 46-year-old from Kitchener is charged with invitation to sexual touching, making child pornography, luring a person under 16 (two counts), and uttering threats (two counts).
A 30-year-old from Cambridge is charged with luring a person under 16.
A 48-year-old from Kitchener is charged with luring a person under 16, making sexually explicit material available to a child, and agreeing or arranging to commit a sexual offence against a child (two counts).
A 50-year-old from Kitchener is charged with two counts of luring a person under 16.