FOLLOWING the arrest of an Edmonton child luring suspect, ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation unit is urging parents to review their children’s location sharing on popular social media apps.
The warning comes following an ICE investigation in which an alleged offender tracked the location of two youths he had been victimizing online. The suspect allegedly tracked the victim’s location via Snapchat and travelled to their family home.
The suspect had been speaking with the victims online and threatened them into sharing sexually explicit videos of themselves. The victims reported that they complied out of extreme fear for their safety and the safety of their family.
The suspect allegedly knew their home address and what school they attended.
“A case like this is manifestation of every parent’s worst fears and you can appreciate how scary this situation would have been for the victims. We want to prevent this from happening and are asking parents to please speak with their children about safe social media usage and at the very least turn off location tracking,” said Staff-Sgt. Alison Church, ICE.
ICE is investigating the possibility of further victims and is asking anyone with knowledge of the case to contact police or Crime Stoppers (1-800-222-TIPS).
Zebra Child Protection Centre and the Edmonton Police Service are providing assistance with the investigation.
Arshdeep Singh, or known by the username “max_bxyz” on Snapchat, was arrested on September 10. The 18-year-old has been charged with:
- Child luring;
- Extortion;
- Criminal harassment;
- Making sexually explicit materials available to a child;
- Making child sexual abuse and exploitation materials;
- Possessing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials; and
- Accessing child sexual abuse and exploitation materials.
The investigation into Singh was prompted after a victim’s family member contacted police in August.
ICE suggests parents and users review their location sharing settings in social media apps.
ALERT was established and is funded by the Alberta Government and is a compilation of the province’s most sophisticated law enforcement resources committed to tackling serious and organized crime.
