Mounties have charged an American citizen with child luring after police say they saw him trying to meet up with a youth that he was communicating with online.
On Tuesday, at 4 a.m., Didsbury RCMP officers say they saw a suspicious car in downtown Didsbury. Mounties say they pulled over the vehicle after it did not stop at a stop sign. While speaking with the driver, officers say they saw a female youth sitting on a bench 10 meters across the street from the location of the traffic stop. The driver told officers he was in town to meet a girl whom he was chatting with on an app.
Officers say they spoke with the female youth who confirmed the male driver was coming to pick her up and said they were communicating over an app. The female youth said she did not know she was talking to an adult and admitted they were meeting up for a sexual encounter.
“This is a serious reminder for parents or guardians to monitor social media access of their children, and to have those serious conversations about being safe while utilizing social media,” said Staff Sergeant Stephen Browne, Didsbury RCMP Detachment Commander.
22-year-old Francisco Xavier Aguilar Serrano, a citizen of the U.S.A. that lives in Airdrie, Alta., has been charged with child luring.
Serrano was released and is set to appear at Alberta Court of Justice in Didsbury on Aug 28. His release conditions state he is to have no contact with any person under the age of 16.