Project Raphael: YRP concludes report, arrests 104 trying to buy child sex

Project Raphael, which was made possible by a grant from the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, began in 2014 as a part of the YRP strategy to combat child sex trafficking.

The strategy includes rescuing victims, identifying and charging those who involve in trafficking children and the individuals who attempted to purchase sex with children.

The investigation team in just three days of the investigation in 2017 nabbed 19 men, who believed that they were purchasing sex from either a 13-year-old or a 14-year-old child.

Detective Sergeant Thai Truong, spokesperson for York Regional Police, said undercover officers were able to find men who wanted to purchase sex by putting online ads, which was part of Project Raphael.

The officers involved were undercover agents who responded to the advertisement pretending as children, aged 13 to 16.

Truong also said that most men stopped communicating when they heard the ages, but 104 men didn’t stop.

He said child sex trafficking is a growing problem in Canada.

Truong added that the average age of entry into the human trafficking sex trade is about 15 years.

He said that police carried out their investigation over four years and focused on men who sought to buy sex from children in an effort to curb demand.

The men charged in this investigation range in ages from 18 to 71 years, with most being from across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but some came to York Region from other provinces.

Truong further pointed out that every efforts are being made by the members of the Human Trafficking Team for combating human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and underage girls.

Investigators are willing to speak with anyone involved in the sex trade who may be looking for a way out from these dangerous circumstances but "The biggest challenge for us when we're dealing with prostituted children is that enlisting their co-operation is very, very difficult. Getting them to trust me, getting them to tell us what has happened is challenging," Truong said,

According to a CBC report, Susan Orlando, provincial coordinator of the human trafficking prosecution team at Ontario's attorney general ministry, said the project had revealed the demand for sex with children that exists in York Region and the surrounding area.

Orlando said, "These girls experience significant and long lasting trauma from which most never recover. Young lives are irreparably damaged, some completely destroyed and some lost completely."

"Exploiting the most vulnerable segments of our society and our youth for personal gain, whether it's for a John's sexual gratification or a pimp's financial gain, is among the most abhorrent criminal conduct and transgression of our moral code that exists in our society today," Orlando added.

Constable Andy Pattenden, for York Regional police, credited investigators for their work as being second to none.

York Regional Police also requested anyone with further information contact their office at 1-866-876-5423, ext.7817, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

(Reporting by Suman Das)