A Leeds County, Ont., man is facing several charges for allegedly entering into an online relationship with a girl from the United States over the internet.
In December 2018, investigators from the Snohomish County Sherriff’s Office contacted OPP about a Canadian man who had allegedly been having explicitly sexual conversations over the internet with a 12-year-old girl in Washington state.
An investigation ensued that involved members of the OPP child exploitation unit and the OPP digital forensic unit.
On Feb. 13, Leeds County OPP charged 21-year-old Robert Bottineau from Leeds County with luring a child, possession of child pornography, invitation to sexual touching, exposure, making sexually explicit material available to a person under 16.
Bottineau’s computer was seized as part of the investigation. He will appear in a Brockville court on March 15.
OPP say they “will continue to aggressively identify and pursue individuals who use technology to exploit children.”
“Our reality today is that every person around the world with a sexual interest in children has immediate access to any child (who) has access to the internet. It’s like they are sitting next to our kids even though they could be across the globe,” said Staff-Sgt. Sharon Hanlon of the OPP child sexual exploitation unit.
“These offenders are very manipulative. If parents are not engaged, they will never see them coming until it’s too late.”
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OPP added that if anyone has any information about online sexual exploitation of children, they can send a tip here.
If you would like to provide an anonymous tip, you can contact Crime Stoppers here.