Peel police officer serving Mississauga and Brampton wins national award for saving U.S. teen from ongoing sexual assaults
Published August 27, 2021 at 4:57 pm
A Peel Regional Police officer who helped save a 15-year-old girl in the U.S. from ongoing sexual assaults allegedly at the hands of her stepfather has received a prestigious award from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
The officer, who works undercover as a member of the Peel police Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit, received the association’s International Policing Award for her efforts leading to the arrest of a man who had been sexually assaulting his stepdaughter for five years. Additionally, the man was secretly recording the girl and his son in the shower and then sharing those images online.
The investigation unfolded when the Peel officer engaged with a man in an undercover capacity, police say. From there, the officer gathered information and then contacted law enforcement in the U.S.
Peel Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich accepted the award on behalf of the officer, who cannot be identified due to the nature of her job, at a virtual ceremony earlier this week.
“Every year, thousands of children become victims of online exploitation,” he said. “Particularly in a pandemic, the online environment is a dangerous one. In order for us to be successful in preventing people from being preyed upon, we need to work with our policing and justice partners in Canada and abroad. Our officers’ commitment to helping our most vulnerable is making a difference and is rightfully being recognized by the CACP and internationally.”
The ICE Unit is comprised of highly trained officers who are focused on investigations involving child pornography. They aim to find, identify and rescue child victims of sexual abuse, police say.
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