Toronto police laid sexual misconduct and trespassing charges on 72 people this past Friday at Marie Curtis Park. Most of the charges laid were against men for indecent exposure and engaging in sexual activity. The sting, dubbed Project Marie, has the city's LGBT community enraged.

Cops have apparently been receiving multiple complaints about "people engaging in sexual acts" at all times of the day, which led to the two month operation.

Plain clothed officers patrolled the park during this time, but many are wondering what the true motivations behind the sting are, echoing the intrusive behaviour of police during Toronto's Bathhouse Raids - something the police kinda sorta apologized for earlier this year.

The men charged in the bust were primarily consenting adults and charges include those for engaging in sexual behaviour and trespassing.

The idea that the sting is a gross overreaction to what was actually happening in the park is also being called into question. Basically, did police create an operation to lure men into having sex with other men in the woods?

Police claim the operation was not created to target gay men. Marcus McCann, a lawyer who is offering free legal aid to those charged along with a group of nine others, is doubtful and claims police have official ways to deal with these type of complaints.

Lawyers are organizing free legal defences for those arrested in the gay cruising sting. If you're affected, we can help. Hit me up (RT PLZ)

— Marcus McCann (@mmccnn) November 12, 2016

Response from the community has been heated, with many demanding accountability from the police.

According to a police spokesperson, a community event has been organized for November 19 from 1-6 p.m. but there's no event page or word yet on where it's actually happening.

Photo of Marie Curtis Park by Christine from the blogTO Flickr pool.