Police are investigating a false warning that’s been posted throughout downtown Calgary.
Posters are showing up on light posts, mailboxes and electrical boxes.
They show a man and a woman with the caption “registered sex offender” and list personal information about a man named Elijha Thoen– complete with a date of birth and address.
The problem is that Thoen is not a sex offender.
“I really don’t like to upset people to begin with, so to have my face plastered everywhere with such a negative message is upsetting,” Thoen told Global News.
Thoen said he first found out about the posters a week ago, when he started receiving messages from concerned friends who saw them plastered throughout the Beltline neighbourhood.
Since the alarming discovery, he has spent hours finding the posters and ripping them down.
“They used glue, some sort of adhesive and a paint brush to make the paperwork stick…and put a lot of effort into each and every one they put up,” he said.
Thoen took a copy of the poster to the Calgary Police Service (CPS).
CPS told Global News an investigation is underway to identify whoever is behind the poster.
Officers said they are concerned about the fraudulent use of the CPS logo, as well as the Crime Stoppers logo.
“It’s concerning,” CPS Sex Crimes Unit Staff Sgt. Bruce Walker said.
“We had no part in any of these posters going up.”
“There’s no sex-related offences with this individual and Calgary Police Service,” Walker added, warning against vigilante action.
Thoen told Global News he has no criminal record and said he doesn’t know who would put up the posters–or why.
“I don’t understand, because that’s definitely not who I am as a person,” Thoen said. “It puts my life in danger.”
Thoen is hoping police will be able to use CCTV footage from the areas where posters have been put up to help track down the person responsible.
That person could face both criminal and civil legal action.
Comments