Peel Regional Police – Youth Charged in Online Child Exploitation Incident
The Voice of Canada News:
Region of Peel– Investigators from the Peel Regional Police Internet Child Exploitation Unit (I.C.E.) with assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre (N.C.E.C.C.) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force (F.B.I.) have arrested and charged a male youth in connection to an online incident involving child pornography.
In May 2020, an anonymous person hacked into private chat conversations on a popular online group meeting application and proceeded to stream offensive material. Soon after, an investigation began by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States of America. The F.B.I. subsequently identified information indicating the suspect was residing in the City of Mississauga and began to coordinate with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre in Ottawa. The N.C.E.C.C. then relayed the information to the Peel Police I.C.E. Unit, and together they worked to identify the suspect locally.
On Thursday, October 29, 2020, the I.C.E. Unit arrested a 17-year-old male youth from Mississauga. He was charged with Making Available Child Pornography, Possession of Child Pornography, and Accessing Child Pornography. He was held for a bail hearing and appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice on October 30, 2020, in Brampton.
A general provision of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Y.C.J.A.) prohibits the release of the name of a Young Person and, therefore, the identity of the Young Persons charged in this investigation is protected.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact investigators with the the Internet Child Exploitation Unit at 905-453-2121 ext. 3490. Information may also be left anonymously by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by visiting peelcrimestoppers.ca. For more information on protecting children online please visit Cybertip.ca.
