Latest news with #childsafety
CTV News
an hour ago
- General
- CTV News
Toronto man arrested for allegedly grabbing and filming children at a Toronto park
Leandro De Souza Barbosa, 35, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault and one count of indecent act. (Toronto Police Service) A 35-year-old Toronto man has been arrested in connection with a 'suspicious incident' in which he allegedly approached and grabbed children during a school soccer tournament. Leandro De Souza Barbosa is charged with two counts of assault and one count of committing an indecent act. Officers say the incident happened Friday around 12 p.m. near St. Clair Avenue West and Caledonia Road, where an elementary school soccer tournament was taking place. Police allege the man picked up a child and placed them on his shoulders. When the child's mother confronted him, he reportedly put the child down. He was later seen filming children on his phone and asking them for their names, ages, phone numbers and addresses, police say. Investigators allege the man was also seen near a playground committing an indecent act, and at one point grabbed another child by the arm and asked them to come with him. That child was able to break free and run away. The man then fled the area. The charges have not been proven in court. Police believe there may be more victims. Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers anonymously.
CTV News
3 hours ago
- General
- CTV News
Police searching for man who allegedly grabbed and filmed children at Toronto park
The suspect who Toronto police are searching for after he allegedly grabbed children and filmed kids at local park on Friday May 30, 2025 (TPS photos). Toronto police are investigating what they describe as a 'suspicious incident' involving a man who allegedly approached and grabbed children during a school soccer tournament in Earlscourt Park. Officers say the incident happened on Friday when they were called to the area of St. Clair Avenue West and Caledonia Road just after 12 p.m. Police say a man allegedly picked up a child and placed them on his shoulders. When confronted by the child's mother, the man reportedly put the child down. He was later seen filming children on his phone and asking them for their names, ages, phone numbers and addresses, police say. Investigators say the man was also spotted near a playground committing an indecent act, and at one point grabbed another child by the arm and asked them to come with him. That child was able to break free and run away. The man fled the area and has not yet been located. The man, who was not named by police, is described as five-foot-eight, 30 to 40 years old, with a slim build. 'He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a cream and pink coloured shirt,' police wrote in a news release. Anyone with information is asked to come forward and contact Toronto police at 416-808-1300. Anonymous tips can also be provided through Crime Stoppers.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Cyber security experts reveal the chilling number of images predators need to make deepfakes of children
Cybersecurity experts have revealed that predators need just 20 images to create deepfake videos of children, prompting urgent warnings over the growing dangers of sharing family photos online. Professor Carsten Maple, a leading expert from the University of Warwick and the Alan Turing Institute, said advanced AI tools can use a shockingly small number of pictures to generate realistic fake profiles and videos of minors. The consequences, he warned, can include identity theft, blackmail, and online exploitation. Parents are unknowingly giving criminals exactly what they need, with many doing it simply by uploading family pictures to social media and cloud storage platforms. 'It takes just 20 images for sophisticated AI tools to create a realistic profile of someone, or even a 30-second video,' said Professor Maple. New research commissioned by privacy tech firm Proton found that UK parents share an average of 63 photos each month, most of them including children. One in five parents post family pictures multiple times a week. Two in five do so several times a month. The findings suggest today's children often have a digital footprint from birth, long before they understand the internet, or can give consent. But it's not just criminals that experts are worried about. Big tech firms are also harvesting these images for their own purposes. Professor Maple pointed to Instagram's recent policy change, which allows the platform to use user photos to train its AI systems. He called the move 'deeply concerning.' He said: 'These companies use consumer data to build advertising profiles, analyse trends, train algorithms and track behaviour — often without people fully realising what's being collected.' Over half of parents now automatically back up their family images to cloud storage. The average parent has around 185 photos of their child saved online at any given time. Yet almost half admit they didn't know that tech companies can access and analyse those photos. The study found four in ten parents believe tech firms only gather basic metadata, things like time, location, or device used, while 11 percent had no idea what kind of information is being collected at all. Experts now warn that a generation of children could face serious long-term risks — including fraud, grooming, and deepfake abuse, simply because of the volume of images being shared. 'Oversharing can lead to digital records that are difficult or impossible to delete,' said Professor Maple. 'This opens the door not just to identity fraud, but also to more sinister forms of exploitation.' Despite this, many parents remain unaware of how vulnerable their images really are. While 72 per cent say photo privacy is important to them, a staggering 94 per cent believe tech firms should be more transparent about how they use stored data. Parental anxiety appears to be rising, with around 32 per cent of parents saying they are constantly worried about their phone or cloud accounts being hacked. Nearly half say they worry about it from time to time. More than half have already taken extra security steps, using Face ID, PIN codes, limiting app downloads, and keeping devices updated. But Professor Maple says that's not enough. With the rapid growth of AI and rising numbers of data breaches, the need to strengthen protection for children has never been more urgent. 'We are building digital profiles of children without their consent,' he said. 'The risks are real, and the damage, in many cases, irreversible.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man accused of touching, filming kids near school soccer event: Toronto cops
Police are probing a suspicious incident involving an unknown man allegedly approaching and picking children up as well as filming them and committing an indecent act near an elementary school soccer tournament. Toronto Police said officers responded on Friday at about 12:15 p.m. to a call for a suspicious incident at Earlscourt Park in the St. Clair Ave.-Caledonia Rd. Area. Police alleged that a man was around the tournament when he approached a child and picked them up and placed them on his shoulders. Cops said the child's mother confronted the man and he put the child down. The man was then seen filming the children on his phone, then asking the children their names, ages, phone numbers and addresses. The man was also seen standing near the playground committing an indecent act. He approached another child, grabbed them by the arm and asked the child to come with him, but the child broke away from the man and ran away. CRIME SCENE: Ajax man accused of sexually assaulting another teen girl CRIME SCENE: Bowmanville man, 22, accused of sex assault, uttering death threats The man fled the area in an unknown direction. He is described as 5-foot-8, 30-40 years old, with a slim build. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a cream and pink-coloured shirt. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 416-808-1300, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at
CBC
7 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Police seek info on man seen approaching children, committing 'indecent act' at park
Toronto police say they are investigating after a man allegedly approached children at a park, made physical contact and asked them for their names and other personal information before committing an indecent act. Police say they were called shortly after noon on Friday to Earlscourt Park in the St. Clair Avenue and Caledonia Road area, where an elementary school soccer tournament was taking place. They say the man allegedly picked up a child and placed them on his shoulders before putting them down when confronted by the child's mother. He was then seen allegedly filming the children on his phone and asking for their names, ages, phone numbers and addresses. Police also say the man, who is described as five-feet-eight inches tall, 30 to 40 years-old with a slim build, was observed standing near the playground committing an indecent act. The man also allegedly approached another child, grabbed them by the arm and asked them to come with him, but the child broke away and ran.
