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Lethbridge man given probation on child porn, luring and extortion charges

Mar 29, 2017 | 12:12 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A 19-year old Lethbridge man has received two years of probation and 24-hours of community service, after he admitted to making child pornography, luring a child and extortion in youth court last November.

A sentencing hearing was held for the man Wednesday (Mar. 29) — he cannot be identified as he was under the age of 18 at the time of the offence — after the completion of a pre-sentence report. A PSR examines the history of an accused to determine if there are extenuating circumstances, while also exploring possible treatment needs while in custody and the risk of re-offending.

The Crown explained that the report was “fairly positive”, and as a result they suggested the term of probation in a joint-submission with the defence, which the judge accepted.

During his probation, he will be bound by a number of conditions, including the following:

– Attend counselling as directed by his probation officer
– Find a job or go to school
– Not possess pornography in any form
– No contact with anyone under the age of 16, unless in the company of another adult and with an exception for family members
– No contact with the victim and can not attend anywhere she lives, works or goes to school
– No access to the internet, with exceptions for work and school or while at a public library
– No access to social media

In a media release from the Lethbridge Police Service, they say the man was charged on May 18, 2016, after a 14-year old girl reported in January that an unknown person on social media had befriended her in the summer of 2015.

The person pressured her into sending nude photos of herself, which she eventually did. After receiving them, the man told her to send more, saying that if she didn’t he would make the original photos public and send them to her family.

With assistance from the Integrated Child Exploitation Unit of ALERT (Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team), a suspect was identified. Police determined that the accused and victim were known to each other, however he had been communicating with her using false identities on various social media channels.

Police noted that the victim was fortunate, in that the photos she had sent were never backed up on a separate storage account, which allowed police to contain them.