64 Arrested, Hundreds of Charges Laid in OPP Child Sexual Abuse Investigation

Sixty-four people have been arrested and 348 charges have been laid in a province-wide investigation into the distribution of child sexual abuse material, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has announced. Known as Project Aquatic, the case involved 129 separate investigations from 27 police services across the province, the OPP said during a May 8 news conference in Scarborough. The investigation began Feb. 19 into the sexual exploitation of 34 child victims and ended Feb. 29 with the arrest of 64 people connected to the making, possession and distribution of “child sexual abuse material.” Thirty-four child victims were identified as part of the investigation, OPP Detective Staff Sergeant Tim Brown told reporters, adding that another 30 children were “safeguarded” as part of the investigation. Det.-Sgt. Brown said the safeguarded children were removed  from “a dangerous position” where they could be “offended against.”...