Three Toronto men among 17 arrested in provincewide child sexual exploitation investigation
· Toronto Sun
See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
Seventeen people have been arrested, and more than 50 criminal charges have been laid in an alleged sexual exploitation case targeting children.
Visit freshyourfeel.org for more information.
“Online offenders are increasingly leveraging digital technologies to access and exploit children and youth,” Ontario Provincial Police Det. Sgt. Tara Clark said in a Monday news release. “Through social media, gaming platforms, messaging applications, and peer-to-peer networks, they use deceptive tactics to groom victims, distribute child sexual abuse material, and evade detection.”
Dubbed Project Brace, the investigation also resulted in 55 total charges and 424 electronic devices seized. Investigators targeted individuals allegedly making, possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material. Police said 23 cases remain active.
“Combating these crimes requires vigilance, education, and collective action from families, communities, industry partners, and law enforcement,” Clark said.
A total of 15 police services across Ontario participated in the case, including the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service and the Thunder Bay Police Service.
Three of the accused from Toronto
Vikas Namasivayan, 28, was charged with two counts of possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material, two counts of accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material and one count of making child sexual abuse and exploitation material available.
Chia Hau Yang, 40, was charged with two counts of possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material, one count of accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material, section and one count of making child sexual abuse and exploitation material available.
Peter Thompson, 56, was charged with one count of possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material, one count of accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material, and one count of making child sexual abuse and exploitation material available.
Namasivayan and Yang were released. Thompson was held in custody.
Some of the accused cannot be identified due to a court-issued publication ban. In total, the names of seven men were not released.
For more information, contact the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.
Anyone with any information related to child sexual exploitation should contact local police or report it to cybertip.ca.