'Deeply concerning': Six Ontario men released after facing charges for luring underage girls for sex

The case of six Ontario men charged with trying to lure girls under the age of 18 for sex is raising the ire of justice critics and frustrating cops after all six of the accused men were released from custody on the promise that they’ll return to court.

“It is deeply concerning to continue seeing individuals charged with serious and heinous crimes released into the public,” Bowmanville-Oshawa North MP Jamil Jivani said Tuesday in a written statement.

“Canadians expect a justice system that prioritizes public safety, and this case once again highlights the urgent need for serious bail reform in Canada.”

All six men were charged last month in a sting operation dubbed Project Firebird. The arrests were announced on Monday. That saw Durham Regional Police Service officers posing as minors to combat the purchase of sexual services from girls under the age of 18.

“These accused believed that they were speaking with an underage female who was soliciting sex,” Const. Nicholas Gluckstein, who speaks for the force, said Tuesday.

All six men were released on an undertaking, Gluckstein said.

“They didn’t even go for a bail hearing,” he said.

“They were just released on a promise to appear” in court at a later date.

Jivani said “this situation underscores the concerns” he hears consistently from residents of his riding.

“Tackling crime and reforming the bail system are a top priority,” Jivani said. “I want to thank the Durham Regional Police Service for their work and for doing everything within their power to keep our community safe. I will continue to do everything in my power to see the bail system fixed.”

Police don’t have an official stance on their release.

“Unfortunately, it’s something that we’re dealing with,” Gluckstein said. “It’s frustrating, obviously, but it’s something that carries all the way up to the provincial and federal government levels — something we really don’t have a hand in because we don’t set those rules.”

The force hears “a lot of public complaining” from those “voicing their opinion that the system is not working as efficiently as it should,” Gluckstein said.

On the flip side, offenders who remain in jail before trial often get a sentencing credit of 1.5 days for every day they spent behind bars before they were convicted due to harsh conditions at remand facilities. So, they can wind up doing less time overall than those who get released from custody after being charged by police.

“At the legislative level, that’s something they have to figure out,” Gluckstein said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a hand in that. But we do see that sometimes; if you’re remanded it does give you some time off of your actual sentencing.”

Those charged include Brampton resident Manish Singh, 22; Bruce Herrington, 50, of Ajax; Markham’s Nickolas Chen, 24; Pickering resident Sarang Kapdi, 33; Leodee Ayoyao, 27, of Oshawa; and Oshawa’s Christopher Smith 39.

All six men are charged with luring a person for the purpose of obtaining sexual services under 18, obtaining sexual services under 18, and invitation to sexual touching under 16. Chen is also facing a charge of obstructing police.

The release of the six men prompted some online reaction from Alberta country music star Paul Brandt.

“Six men charged with trying to buy sex from children. And then released. I was born and raised in Canada, and these were never our standards,” Brandt said in a social media post .

“Even in the Canada I returned to when I moved back from Nashville 20 years ago would have never stood for this.”

Brandt is pushing an online petition aimed at reversing last fall’s decision from Canada’s top court that struck down the one-year mandatory minimum sentence requirement for the possession and access of child pornography.

“Please sign our petition, and send a message about the type of country you want Canada to be once again,” Brandt said in a post on the social media platform known as X.

“Demand accountability, denouncement, and deterrence. There are deep connections between child sexual abuse material and the accessing of children for sex.”

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