Former Toronto police officer pleads guilty in Project South case

A former Toronto police constable has pleaded guilty to breach of trust and theft under $5,000 in connection with the Project South corruption investigation. Derek McCormick, 57, was sentenced Tuesday in Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto to a 10month conditional sentence, including five months of house arrest and five months under a nightly curfew. He was also barred from drinking alcohol or using nonprescribed drugs. Court records say the case stems from McCormick taking a cellphone that had been turned in at 52 Division in October 2025 and giving it to another officer. The Crown said McCormick was struggling with painkiller addiction and PTSD at the time. Several other charges were withdrawn as part of a joint sentencing submission accepted by the judge. Project South began in 2025 as an investigation into an alleged murder plot at Toronto South Detention Centre and later expanded into broader claims of police corruption and links to organized crime. Other officers charged in the investigation are expected back in court this week.