CALGARY- When her 14-year-old daughter came home unusually late one evening, a Calgary mom decided to take a careful look at her social media accounts.
“She finally walked through the door at almost 3 o’clock in the morning…and at that point I confiscated her devices and went through everything,” said “Gwen,” whose real name is not being identified by Global News.
“I found some conversations with some people who were quite visibly not her age.”
The Internet Child Exploitation Unit intervened to find that a much older man had been luring Gwen’s daughter, meeting her in the neighbourhood and then driving her to his home.
The offender was charged with sexual assault—and linked to three other girls, aged 14 to 18. The investigation resulted in 18 charges against the man.
“It starts out online, he befriends girls online, and the relationship moves on to the point where they meet up physically, and there’s a sexual relationship between the victim and the offender,” said Sgt. John Guigon, of the Southern Alberta Internet Child Exploitation Unit.
Police recommend re-enforcing the dangers of communicating with strangers online, and being wary of flattering messages. Guigon said online luring has become extremely common, with between four to six “similar situations” under investigation at any time.
Watch Nancy Hixt’s story above to find out how this online predators lured Gwen’s daughter, and the best advice to avoid such a situation from police.
With files from Erika Tucker
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