Caution: This story deals with child sexual abuse and contains details some readers may find upsetting.
TORONTO – A 67-year-old Fergus man charged with sexual offences last year has pleaded guilty to some of the charges against him.
Wilfred Thyssen was arrested along with seven other men in “Project Limestone,” a multi-agency child exploitation investigation last September.
WILFRED THYSSEN
Wellington OPP charged Thyssen with two counts of arranging to commit a sexual offence against a child (luring) and with failing to comply with previous bail conditions.
In Toronto court on Dec. 11, he pleaded guilty to a count of child luring, and the count of failing to comply with bail conditions, notably not to have internet access without direct supervision.
Thyssen began chatting on a sexual fetish website with a 32-year-old woman in an attempt to arrange sex with her and her 10-year-old daughter.
During the course of an obscenely graphic online back-and-forth with the woman between Sept. 13 and 21, Thyssen sent photos of himself with his face and penis exposed.
In one photo, he held up a sign stating “hi.” Court heard Thyssen told the woman his photos were for her child.
Later, he suggested the woman and her daughter meet up with Thyssen to have sex. She agreed.
“Really, wow — this seems too good to be true, I’m very excited,” Thyssen wrote back.
“Please tell me you are real and not law enforcement, or a scam.”
Days later Thyssen had second thoughts. He messaged the woman, calling off the meeting.
“This was a fun fantasy, but I cannot do this in reality, bye,” he wrote, and blocked the woman.
Minutes later, he unblocked her and apologized.
“I am very confused [and] conflicted,” he wrote, adding, “I can’t help but worry that I’m being set up.”
“Why don’t we just ignore my stupidity and carry [on] with our original plans?”
On Sept. 22, Thyssen was arrested in a Fergus Walmart parking lot, where he and the woman had agreed to meet.
The woman turned out to be a detective with the OPP’s internet child exploitation unit who had assumed the fictional persona of the woman with a child.
At the time of his arrest last year, Thyssen was out on bail after being arrested at his Fergus home nearly three years ago.
In 2021, Thyssen was charged by Toronto Police Service with seven offences, including:
- three related to child sexual abuse material (commonly referred to as child pornography);
- luring a child under 16 years of age;
- arranging to commit sexual interference; and
- two counts of attempting to sexually interfere with a child.
The Advertiser hasn’t been able to verify the status of those charges, which are currently before the court.
An official with the Toronto Crown’s office, which is prosecuting all charges against Thyssen, said by phone on Feb. 21 they are not allowed to talk to journalists.
The Advertiser is awaiting clarity from the Ministry of the Attorney General about the seven other charges.
On Feb. 20, Thyssen briefly appeared in court with shaggy hair and a beard, and lawyers requested time for review of a psychiatric assessment previously ordered by the judge.
Thyssen is currently being held at Milton’s Maplehurst Correctional Complex and is to be sentenced by Justice Jonathan Bliss on a date yet to be determined.
