Dutch Man Arrested for Online Sexual Offences Against Alberta Youth
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LETHBRIDGE — It’s an arrest which a police officer says “shows there are no boundaries when it comes to tracking down suspects who victimize children.”
The comment came from Detective Aat Both, a member of the Dutch Child Exploitation Team, National Police Netherlands.
An investigation, stemming from an online sexual extortion case involving a 14-year-old Lethbridge boy, resulted in the arrest of a man in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on July 4, 2018.
ALERT’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit worked alongside the Lethbridge Police Service and National Police Netherlands. At least five victims have been identified.
The victim and the suspect met via an online social media platform and, at first, the victim believed he was speaking with a 14-year-old girl. The suspect allegedly coerced the victim into sending sexually explicit photos, which progressed into threats and extortion for more photos. Eventually the victim came forward and reported the sextortion to the Lethbridge Police Service in April 2017.
Lethbridge Police worked with ICE on the investigation and forensic technicians were able to identify the suspect via information gleaned from the victim’s cell phone.
National Police Netherlands arrested a 28-year-old man and charged him with threatening a minor to commit lewd acts, and possession, production, and dissemination of child pornography. Under Dutch privacy laws, the suspect cannot be named.
Since his arrest, National Police Netherlands was able to identify four other victims who suffered under similar circumstances.
