A Slap on the Wrist for a Badge
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
A conditional discharge for an officer who abused his power is not justice; it is a message that the law is a suggestion for those who enforce it.
Toronto police officer Elias Mouawad, 25, has been handed a conditional discharge by Superior Justice Catherine Rhinelander after pleading guilty to one count of unauthorized use of a computer. According to reporting from Global News Toronto and CBC Toronto, Mouawad was sentenced to one year of probation and 100 hours of community service.
As part of the Project South corruption probe led by York Regional Police, court heard that on Jan. 19, 2026, Mouawad conducted an illegal license plate search at the request of Daljit Singh, a former employer and co-accused. The information was subsequently shared with Brian Da Costa, an alleged drug trafficker and key figure in the investigation. Global News Toronto reports that some targets of such queries became victims of violent crimes, including an attempted murder of a senior corrections officer at the Toronto South Detention Centre.
While the Crown sought a four-month sentence involving house arrest and curfew, defense lawyer Peter Brauti argued that such a penalty would jeopardize Mouawad's employment. Justice Rhinelander noted the act was a "serious lapse of judgement" and a breach of trust, but concluded it was not "entrenched behavior."
Because of the conditional discharge, Mouawad will avoid a criminal record if he meets his probation terms. He remains suspended without pay from the Toronto police, where he had worked for a year and a half, and must now face a professional standards tribunal to determine if he can keep his job.