Barrie man among 35 others charged in large scale child exploitation investigation

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A Barrie man has been charged along with 35 other individuals in connection with a large-scale, province-wide child sexual exploitation investigation resulting in a total of 128 charges laid.

Provincial police say members from more than 20 police services, including the Barrie Police Service, posed as children in online chatrooms and social media apps during the two-week course of the investigation to identify and locate individuals seeking to sexually exploit children.

"Although this was a luring investigation in which officers posed as children online and waited for offenders to make contact, nine real victims were identified," provincial police stated. “One of the accused arrived at the meeting location with snacks and one arrived with sexual paraphernalia (lubricant and condoms). One of the arrested was listed on the National Sex Offender Registry.”

Those accused are all men between 18 and 73 years of age, including a 55-year-old Barrie man, who is charged with three counts of luring a person under 16 and making sexually explicit material available to a child. He has since been released from custody with a court appearance scheduled for next week.

“These results highlight a sobering reality: predators can easily reach children in online spaces. We urge parents and guardians to remain vigilant and to talk to your children about staying safe online. Just as you wouldn’t leave your child alone in a city, don’t let them navigate the online world alone," stated OPP Det. Staff Sgt. Tim Brown.