A 47-year-old London man is facing 11 charges following an investigation by the London Police Service Internet Child Exploitation Unit. According to police, the investigation began after Homeland Security Investigations conducted a probe between January and October 2025 into international child sex trafficking organizations that facilitate livestream child sexual abuse. In October 2025, the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation’s Human Trafficking Division conducted an operation that resulted in the rescue of five children. Information related to alleged criminal offences was later provided to the RCMP National Child Exploitation Crime Centre’s Transnational Child Sex Offender Unit with assistance from the Child Rescue Coalition, Homeland Security Investigations and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. During an RCMP-led investigation in Ottawa conducted in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations, investigators identified a London man who was allegedly sending money to a facilitator in the Philippines. On June 9, 2026, the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Crime Centre notified London police that the investigation involved a London resident. Members of the London Police Service Internet Child Exploitation Unit executed a search warrant at a residence in the area of Grosvenor and Gammage streets on Nov. 5. A suspect was arrested and electronic devices were seized. Police said investigators located evidence of child sexual abuse and exploitation material. The charges As a result of the investigation, Timothy Ryan Shirk, 47, of London, is charged with: What’s next? Police said the accused appeared in court on Nov. 5 and was later released on conditions, including that he not be within 20 metres of a public park, public swimming area, daycare centre, school grounds, playground or community centre. He is also prohibited from being alone with anyone under the age of 18 and from possessing weapons. A photograph of the accused has been released by police because of the nature of the charges and the court-imposed conditions. Shirk is scheduled to reappear in a London court on Jan. 28, 2027.
