36 men charged with 128 offences as part of child sex exploitation investigation, OPP says

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 05, 2025 9:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Ontario Provincial Police accidental they person arrested and charged 36 men with a combined full of 128 offences arsenic portion of a child intersexual exploitation investigation.

The accused scope successful property from 18 to 73, the OPP said successful a quality merchandise connected Thursday.

Police said investigators utilized undercover techniques to access online chat rooms and societal media applications to identify, find and apprehension radical looking to sexually exploit children.

"These results item a sobering reality: predators tin easy scope children successful online spaces," OPP Det. Staff Sgt. Tim Brown said successful the release.

"We impulse parents and guardians to stay vigilant and to speech to your children astir staying harmless online. Just arsenic you wouldn't permission your kid unsocial successful a city, don't fto them navigate the online satellite alone."

The OPP described the cognition arsenic a "luring investigation."

That means officers posed arsenic children online and waited for radical to marque contact. Nine victims were identified. Police said the victims were provided with enactment and are safe.

One of the accused arrived astatine a gathering determination with snacks, portion different arrived with lubricant and condoms, constabulary said. One of the arrested men was listed connected the National Sex Offender Registry.

Police said 51 investigations are continuing.

According to the OPP, 21 constabulary forces from what is known arsenic the Provincial Internet Child Exploitation Strategy took portion successful the probe from March 31 to April 11. 

Police said constabulary forces progressive successful the provincial strategy have noted a rise successful reports of online kid intersexual exploitation and kid intersexual maltreatment worldly successful caller years. 

The provincial strategy is made up of the Ontario Provincial Police Child Sexual Exploitation Unit, 26 municipal constabulary forces, Ontario's ministry of the lawyer wide and the ministry of the solicitor general.