Predators and a pandemic: parents urged to protect children as online exploitation projected to rise

Photo illustration from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection

The work of the ICE unit can not stop. Over the last five years, Mississauga and Brampton have registered a 332 percent increase in sex crimes against children, rising from 38 crimes in 2014 to 164 in 2018, nearly three times the increase observed across Ontario.

Tips from the National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC) about either child sexual exploitation material being viewed or originating in Peel police’s jurisdiction have increased 543 percent since 2015, ballooning from 28 reports that year to 180 in 2018. 

When The Pointer met with the ICE unit in September 2019, Peel had already surpassed the previous year's total with 184 reports at that point in the year. Things have only gotten worse. 

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With children stuck inside, more and more are turning to the internet and social media to entertain themselves and stay connected with friends, unaware they’re being targeted.

The presence of child sexual abuse material is rising dramatically – triggering calls for popular sites like Pornhub to be shuttered for not doing enough to remove abusive content.

Published in The Pointer Brampton and The Pointer Mississauga on June 6, 2020