5 people from Waterloo region charged in province-wide child exploitation investigation
Police have charged 107 people after a massive month-long child exploitation investigation spanning the entire province.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say Project Maverick focused on internet crimes and resulted in 428 charges, including possession and access of child pornography, making child pornography, luring and voyeurism.
“This is a snapshot of one month out of the year to show that everyone has a role to play when it comes to protecting our children,” OPP Detective Insp. Jordan Whitesell said in a video produced by OPP. “If you are watching this and you have information about a child being abused online, take this as a sign to report it to police or cybertip.ca. You can make a difference.”
The investigations happened in October and were a collaborative effort led by OPP involving 27 police agencies throughout Ontario.
“The things that we see with child sexual abuse material is jurisdiction doesn’t matter, and so we really need to access one another’s resources to deal with the really highly mobile nature of this crime,” Whitesell told CTV News.
LOCAL CHARGES
Among the over 100 people charged are four from Cambridge, two from Woodstock and one each from Kitchener and Guelph.
Waterloo regional police say they completed seven search warrants and arrested four men and one woman as part of Project Maverick. Local investigators also gathered information that led to the arrest of a man in the United Kingdom.
Across the province, OPP say 61 victims were identified, and another 60 children were safeguarded.
In Waterloo region, Waterloo regional police Sgt. Brian Duyn said police “know of four child victims and at least another three who were living with offenders.”
Ontario Provincial Police say there are 175 ongoing investigations where additional charges may be laid. As for Waterloo regional police, they say they’ll continue to crack down on predators and have over 400 files pending.
“[It’s] overwhelming, the number of cases,” Duyn said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
New one-and-done therapy can help curb severe COVID-19 infection: Canadian-led study
A Canadian-led study of a new potential antiviral therapy shows a single dose can help cut the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19.

Are video games good for kids' brains or bad for them? New research suggests the answer is 'neither'
A small new study has found that neither the frequency of daily gaming reported by pre-teen children nor the specific video game genres they chose to play were linked with their performance on a standardized cognitive tests.
Canada deploys military assessment team to Turkiye after earthquake
Canada deployed a disaster assessment team to Turkey on Wednesday in the wake of a devastating earthquake that's killed thousands, as the federal government faced criticism that the window to help with rescue efforts was closing.
'It was a nightmare': 2 children dead, driver charged after city bus crashes into Laval daycare
A man has been arrested and two children are dead after a driver crashed a city bus into a daycare in Laval, Que. Wednesday morning. The deadly crash sent multiple children to area hospitals and parents scrambling to find their kids shortly after they dropped them off for the day at the Garderie éducative Sainte-Rose, north of Montreal.
Alphabet shares dive after Google AI chatbot Bard flubs answer in ad
Alphabet Inc. lost US$100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft.
opinion | Before you do your taxes, take note of these tax credits and deductions you may not have known about
Many Canadians are experiencing strains caused by the increased cost of living and inflation. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, contributor Christopher Liew shares some of the top credits and deductions that you may be able to claim on your income tax return to help you save money.
Indigo payment systems, online store down after 'cybersecurity incident'
Indigo's payment systems and online store are down after a 'cybersecurity incident,' the company announced on Wednesday evening.
Netflix Canada begins password sharing crackdown
Netflix Canada is rolling out its long-anticipated plans to crack down on password sharing, saying it will begin notifying Canadian users today by email about limitations.
Tyre Nichols documents: Officer never explained stop to him
The officer who pulled Tyre Nichols from his car before police fatally beat him never explained why he was being stopped, newly released documents show, and emerging reports from Memphis residents suggest that was common.