In the wake of the unanimous Supreme Court of Canada ruling that dismissed the appeals of four men convicted of child luring and human trafficking-related offences, York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween is lauding his force as leaders in combating the online predators.
The "rare" 9-0 ruling is a validation of Project Raphael, which was a "ground-breaking" investigation that led to the arrest of 104 men who attempted to purchase prostituted children online, Chief MacSween said in a statement issued today.
"As a direct result of the proactive approach taken by our investigators, York Regional Police established itself as a leader in combating this online market," he said. "The results were clear: Not one child was harmed or had to testify in court. We did not wait for children to be exploited—we stopped the predators in their tracks."
The force did not entrap men in the investigation that led to the arrests of 104 men for child luring and related offences between 2014 and 2017, the Supreme Court ruled last Thursday regarding four appeals that arose from arrests and prosecutions.
Police placed fake classified ads in the escorts section of a former website, with undercover officers posing as escorts who would disclose in an ensuing text chat that they were underage. Individuals who continued the chat and arranged for sex were told to turn up at a hotel room, where police arrested and charged them.
The Supreme Court concluded Project Raphael was a legitimate inquiry and not entrapment under the law.
"To draw those crimes into the open, the police, acting undercover, sometimes create occasions for people to commit the very crimes they seek to prevent. Done properly, such techniques may cast new light on covert offending, unveiling harms that would otherwise go unpunished," Justice Andromache Karakatsanis wrote in one of the rulings.
Police must reasonably suspect that crime is occurring in a sufficiently precise space — in this case, a website — and have a genuine purpose of investigating and repressing crime, the court noted.
In its decision, the Supreme Court clearly recognized the need for police services to adapt their investigative techniques to address the rise of the online child sex market, MacSween said.
"This ruling sends a clear message to law enforcement across Canada to continue their innovative efforts to protect our most vulnerable before they are victimized. I am so proud of our human trafficking team and I once again commend them for their ongoing investigative excellence, victim advocacy and commitment to public safety.
"Human trafficking destroys lives, especially when it involves children. Together with all of our policing partners, we will continue the fight against child exploitation and will aggressively work to bring to justice the criminals who are driving this lurid industry."
— With files from Jim Bronskill, Canadian Press
