Toronto police officer pleads guilty to one charge in Project South investigation

One of the Toronto police officers charged in the Project South investigation has pled guilty to one count of unauthorized use of a computer. Elias Mouawad pled guilty to the charge Monday morning. The Crown is seeking a four-month conditional sentence with 12 months of probation.

Mouawad is one of eight current and former Toronto police officers charged in connection to the corruption case. He is the second to plead guilty after Derek McCormick entered a guilty plea for theft under $5,000 and breach of trust (stealing found property) back in June. Related: Cop charged in Project South planned illegal dispensaries, massage parlours: documents Former Toronto cop Derek McCormick pleads guilty in Project South case Number of charges reduced for some accused in Project South police corruption probe Project South began in June 2025 when York Regional Police dismantled an alleged plot to murder a member of corrections management who was working at a Ontario correctional institution.

The seven-month-long investigation found officers unlawfully accessed information, which was then funneled to criminals who carried out shootings and other violent offences. Nineteen other suspects from across the GTA who are not Toronto police officers are also facing a long list of charges with some facing conspiracy to commit murder offences, attempt to commit murder and multiple drug trafficking offences. A Toronto police officer charged in the Project South corruption investigation has pleaded guilty, becoming the second to do so.