Five people from Northwestern Ontario have been charged through a provincial task force on child exploitation.
Project Maverick involved the collaboration of 27 police services across Ontario including the Ontario Provincial Police and Thunder Bay Police Service.
Three of the accused, arrested by Thunder Bay Police face several charges each:
a 40-year-old male arrested on October 6th,
• Distributing Child Pornography • Accessing Child Pornography
a 21-year-old male arrested on October 12th,
• Possession of Child Pornography • Transmitting Sexually Explicit Material to a Person Under 16 Years of Age • Luring a Person Under 18 Years of Age by Means of Telecommunication
and a 31-year-old male arrested on October 14th,
• Possession of Child Pornography • Transmit Sexually Explicit Material to a Person Under 16 • Luring a Person Under 18 Years of Age by Means of Telecommunication x 2 • Communicate with Anyone Under 18 for Purpose of Obtaining Sexual Services
Ontario Provincial Police say a 27-year-old, from Thunder Bay has been charged with,
•Sexual Assault x2
•Voyeurism
and a 25-year-old from Sandy Lake First Nation has been charged with,
•Making Child Pornographyx2
•Possession of Child Pornographyx2
•Make Available Child Pornography
•Accessing Child Pornography
No genders or dates of arrest were provided by the OPP.
In total, Project Maverick identified 61 victims, conducted 255 investigations, executed 168 search warrants, seized 1032 electronic devices and led to 107 arrests, yielding 428 charges and safeguarded 60 children. There are still 175 ongoing investigations where more charges could be laid.
Assistance was also provided by several outside agencies including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Border Services Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security.
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