Authorities from 63 police services have made more than 100 arrests and laid more than 300 charges as part of a nationwide operation targeting child exploitation.
The joint police initiative, dubbed Project Steel, successfully protected 37 children from potential harm and led to the identification of 40 victims, RCMP Insp. Matthieu Girard said during a March 5 press conference in Ottawa. He described the numbers as “preliminary” because investigations are continuing across the country.
The 11-day operation last month included law enforcement partners across Canada participating in a “mass takedown” of 106 offenders engaging in a variety of online child exploitation offences, Girard said.
The sting was coordinated by the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre, the Ontario Provincial Police, and Sûreté du Québec.
Officers seized 1,132 electronic devices and laid 308 charges including making, distributing, possessing, and accessing child pornography, Girard said. Sexual interference, luring a child under the age of 16 and under the age of 18, and invitation to sexual touching charges were also laid among others.
Police did not release the names or ages of any of the people charged.
Girard said 306 investigations have been conducted thus far as part of Project Steel and an additional 395 investigations remain in progress.
The Peel Regional Police Service and the Durham Regional Police Service have each played a vital role in the investigations both past and present, police said.
Officers from both of the southern Ontario forces attended the press conference with police dogs specially trained to locate electronic storage devices, which police said were “essential” to the investigations.
Det.-Const. Samantha Mayhew of the Durham Regional Police major crime and internet child exploitation unit attended with her partner Pixel, a chocolate lab. Det. Andrew Ullock of the Peel Regional Police internet child exploitation unit was also on hand with his partner Harley, another Labrador retriever.
The dogs are not only able to sniff out devices that officers are unable to find during searches, they also provide emotional support to victims during interviews, the officers said.
OPP Det. Staff-Sgt. Tim Brown said protecting children from sexual exploitation is a responsibility that must be shared not just by the country’s police forces, but by government partners and communities as well.
“By working together, we are sending a clear message: those who exploit children will be found, held accountable and brought to justice,” Brown said.
Girard said that “safeguarding” children demands a coordinated approach that includes law enforcement, government, and technology companies working in unison.
“We need to work together to make the internet a safer place,” Girard said. “Public awareness also plays a vital role in protecting children as it reduces stigma and increases the likelihood of reports to authorities.”
