Hamilton man charged with paying for, directing livestream of sexual abuse of children in the Philippines

Stephen Tolys, 42, is seen in this undated image. (Toronto Police Service)

Warning: graphic content

Toronto police say a man from Hamilton is facing more than 130 charges for allegedly paying for and directing a livestream which featured the sexual abuse of children in the Philippines.

At a news conference on Wednesday, investigators with Toronto police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) revealed that they identified an individual in Canada in April 2025 who was allegedly involved in the sexual abuse of children overseas.

In collaboration with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and FINTRAC, they allege the suspect, identified by police as 42-year-old Stephen Tolys, was sending money to a “facilitator” in the Philippines to view and interact with the content online.

RCMP Corp. Philippe Gravel explained that in cases like this, the facilitator -- sometimes referred to as a “trafficker” -- charges customers from around the world to watch, request or direct the abuse of children in real time.

“What’s more, these facilitators are often family members or other trusted individuals close to the victims. They exploit vulnerable children for financial gain. What we’re talking about is not a victimless crime; it is the repeated sexual abuse of children for profit. In many cases, it has been described as child rape,” he said.

In October 2025, local law enforcement in the Philippines partnered with the Netherlands police to carry out an operation which led to the rescue of four children. The facilitator was also arrested at that time. Police did not reveal the identity of the facilitator or their relationship with the children.

Investigators at Wednesday’s news conference wouldn’t reveal the extent of the Dutch police involvement, but said that as a result of that operation Toronto police were able to learn more about the suspect and track him down.

The investigation culminated on March 25, 2026, when police executed a search warrant in the area of Kenilworth Avenue North and Cannon Street East in Hamilton. At the time of his arrest, Tolys was found to be in the possession of a quantity of child sexual abuse and exploitation material, police say.

Tolys, who police described as a “buyer” in connection with the investigation, was initially charged with six counts related to child sexual abuse.

Upon further investigation, police laid an additional 130 charges against Tolys.

Investigators said they are concerned that there may be additional victims. They shared a list of usernames that they say Tolys is known to go by on various social media platforms. Those include:

• Tupac101
• Steve101
• Steve-o
• Jumpinjacks666
• Mighty
• Mightymann66

“We encourage anyone who may have communicated with the accused using these usernames or anyone with information relevant to this investigation to contact Toronto Police,” Insp. Keri Fernandes said Wednesday.

Tolys is scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom on July 31.

RCMP received 103,000 reports of child sexual exploitation in 24-25

Gravel said that the Philippines is one of several regions in the Indo-Pacific facing “significant” challenges related to transnational child sexual exploitation.

He added that, since 2022, the RCMP’s liaison officer in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, has been working closely with international partners to support investigations, identify offenders, rescue victims and disrupt the criminal activity in the region.

At home, the RCMP said its National Child Exploitation Crime Centre received more than 103,000 reports and complaints related to suspected online child sexual exploitation in 2024 and 2025.