Regional police make several arrests as part of Project Maverick

Hundreds of charges have been laid across the province as part of Project Maverick.

It's a provincial strategy to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation on the internet.

In October, Waterloo Regional Police completed seven search warrants and arrested four men and one woman.

“In one case, investigators gathered information that led to the arrest of a male in the United Kingdom. In total, our investigators laid 20 criminal charges related to child exploitation and safeguarded four children.” Sergeant Brian Duyn, with the WRPS Cybercrime – Internet Child Exploitation Unit, shared in a news release.

The 27 police services that are part of Project Maverick conducted 255 investigations last month, resulting in 428 charges being laid against 107 people. 61 victims were identified and were referred to appropriate community-based resources for assistance, while an additional 60 children were safeguarded.

Since the provincial strategy began in 2006, 6,540 people have been charged and a total of 3,470 victims have been identified worldwide.