Windsor and Chatham-Kent Police are among 15 police services that helped arrest 17 people in an Ontario Provincial Police probe into child sexual exploitation.
Project Brace was a province-wide online child exploitation investigation to identify and apprehend suspects who are accused of making, possessing, and distributing child sexual abuse material.
None of those arrested is from the Windsor or Chatham areas, but the 17 individuals, aged 28 to 56, are from Toronto, Whitby, Niagara Falls, Smith Falls, Brockville, Kingston, Milton, and Barrie.
Provincial police partners have noted a significant increase in reports of online child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse materials in recent years.
"Online offenders are increasingly leveraging digital technologies to access and exploit children and youth," aid OPP Detective Staff Sergeant Tara Clark. "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. Combating these crimes requires vigilance, education, and collective action from families, communities, industry partners, and law enforcement."
The investigation did not directly identify victims, and 23 cases initiated by investigators remain active.
