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4 wu 2 Zz = m Nine Halton residents ,, December 15, 2022 | wursday, De Bs er Pa gS ° & Ej 8 3 Ee 5 = 1d people char; ith child exploitation of- i E fences in October, the re- 2 > sult of the work being done = by investigators and ana- lysts that comprise the Pro- 3 vincial Strategy to Protect * Childre from Sexual i Abuse and Exploitation on 2 the Internet. Of the nine individuals facing charges, five are from Burlington, two from Beorgetown and two from Milto: Chila exploitation num- bers continue to rise, ac- cording to the provincial operation involving 27 po- lice services, including Halton police. The results of the Octo- ber investigations, named Project Maverick, showed pleted 168 search warrants and seized 1,032 devices. A total of 428 charges were laid against 107 people. During the investiga- tions, 61 victims were iden- tified and referred to com- munity-based resources for assistance, while an ad- ditional 60 children were safeguarded. There are 175 ongoing investigations where additional charges may be laid. "The work done by the provincial strategy mem- bers takes us to some of the provincial strategy lead. The provincial strategy. includes the minist the Attorney General. me Solicitor General and the partners participating in these in- vestigations included OPP Digital Forensics, the Roy- al Canadian Mounted Po- lice, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Fed- eral Bureau of Investiga- tion and Homeland Securi- ty. The BOOST Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, the Children's Aid Society vided victims' support and education. Since the provincial strategy began in 2006, it has completed 65,564 inves- tigations and laid 24,608 charges against 6,540 peo- ple. A total of 3,470 victims have been identified world- le. "It remains our utmost priority to protect those most vulnerable, and lead them to safety while hold- ing those responsible for these crimes accountable. I'm extremely proud of the tremendous work done by our officers as part of Pro- ject Maverick," said HRPS Mountsberg Conservation Area December 28 - February 20 conservationhalton.ca/winterlit theifp.ca Halton ton police photo Child exploitation numbers on the rise, according to investigators. Insp. Chris Newcombe, re- gional investigative servic- es. The numbers are shock- ing, but they provide hope by showing 1 the lengths po- lice are to go to pro- tect children, said OPP Chief Superintendent Kari Dart, OPP investigation HALTON RESIDENTS CHARGED IN CHILD EXPLOITATION INVESTIGATIONS and support bureau. “This is not a crime that can be combatted by our members alone and we ask vigilant ande educate your yourself," add- ed King. The video outlining the investigation is available on Twitter (@OPP_News) and Facebook (@ontario- provincialpolice) _ The investigations con- jue and anyone with in- formation on these or any child exploitation investi- gations are asked to con- {act police. Report any in- online child sme to pose or cybertip- ca. harmed, call 911. To learn how to keep children safe, go to Canadi- an Centre for Child Protec- tion or cybertip.ca. Conservation Halton