5 men from Niagara region included in charges laid in online child sexual abuse operation, 64 people arrested
Five men from the Niagara region have been included in arrests made during a province wide child sexual abuse and exploitation sting by OPP and 27 police forces, including Niagara.
64 people are charged, the youngest are two 16 year olds, with 348 charges laid as a result of Operation Aquatic.
Signy Arnason of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection shared disturbing facts this morning of what offenders do online. "Encourage one another to share tactics, that include 'How To' manuals. They normalize the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Many within these communities obsess over certain victims, try to locate them, and even stock them well into adulthood."
Police add 34 children were identified, and 30 safeguarded.
OPP Sergeant Tim Brown says one terabyte of data can store up to 500 hours of video, one suspect had 21 terabytes.
"For every device seized, an officer or analyst examines each photo and video, which can take several weeks. The time spent on each child sexual abuse investigation only grows, with the continued increase of storage."
Police say the oldest offender is an 89-year old Toronto man. The people charged from Niagara region are from St. Catharines, Beamsville, Fort Erie, Port Colborne and Niagara Falls.
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