Toronto man accused of online luring and exploitation of kids in numerous countries
· Toronto Sun
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A Toronto man arrested in the spring in an online child luring and exploitation investigation now faces dozens of new charges after a “forensic review” of his seized electronic devices.
Toronto Police say Internet Child Exploitation Unit officers initially launched the investigation in March after receiving a report regarding child sexual abuse and exploitation material (CSAEM) that had allegedly been uploaded to a social media platform.
Investigators subsequently identified a suspect and executed a search warrant at a residence near Broadview and Danforth Aves. on April 16.
“Officers seized electronic devices belonging to the accused, on which a forensic review located CSAEM and revealed the accused had used false personas/identities to allegedly lure and exploit children,” police claim in a statement released Wednesday.
Metin Ugur, 57, of Toronto, was arrested on the same day the search warrant was executed.
He was charged with seven offences at that time, including two counts of accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material; two counts of possession of child sexual abuse and exploitation material; one count of making child sexual abuse and exploitation material; one count of make available child sexual abuse and exploitation material; and one count of luring a person under 18 years old.
“After further investigation, 13 additional victims were located,” police alleged Wednesday. “As a result, investigators laid an additional 61 charges.”
The new charges include 14 counts of luring a person under 18 years old; seven counts of making available sexually explicit material to a person under 18 years old; 14 counts of making child sexual abuse and exploitation material; 13 counts of accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material; and 13 counts of possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation material.
Police said the accused is alleged to have used the following personas and usernames to communicate with victims on various social media platforms, including but not limited to: Snapchat, Discord, Instagram, TikTok, and Fortnite:
– Female Persona (“Ava”)
– Hey_woolfie
– Male Personas (“Chase”, “Noah”)
– Chase_woolf
– Chase_woolf13
– Noah.scout
– Noah_scout_13
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The alleged victims are believed to reside in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, as well as the United States, Australia, Scotland and England, police said.
“Internet Child Exploitation has no borders, and neither do our investigations. The investigation is ongoing, and we will go where the evidence leads, working with our local and international partners to identify potential victims,” Det.-Sgt. Alicia Murray, of the Internet Child Exploitation Unit, said in a statement released Wednesday. “Investigators believe there may be additional victims and are asking anyone with information to come forward.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-8500.