Lethbridge Police have laid charges against an 18-year-old man accused of extorting nude photographs from a teenage girl via social media.
The victim told police the incident happened after she was befriended by a stranger online in the summer of 2015. She said she was pressured into sharing nude photos of herself, and when she complied, she was allegedly extorted into sending more pictures.
According to police, the stranger threatened the victim, saying if she didn’t continue to send more photos, then the first ones she sent would be made public and sent to her family members.
“This case exemplifies the risks associated with online photo sharing,” Cst. Jason Richmond said. “Once you hit send, you lose complete control over how that image is going to be used – or come back to haunt you.”
Police launched an investigation into the incident when the young girl reported it them on January 7.
On May 18, officers arrested an 18-year-old man. The accused is facing a handful of charges, including extortion, making child pornography, accessing child pornography, possession child pornography, making sexually explicit material available to a child and luring for the purposes of child pornography.
Police said the accused was known to the victim, and allege that he had been using fake social media accounts to communicate with her.
Because the accused and the victim are associated, investigators are withholding the man’s name to protect the identity of the victim.
The unnamed man made his first court appearance this week and is scheduled to return to court on June 16.
Police do not believe there are additional victims.