Trail RCMP is recommending several more charges against an online predator who was tapping into local youth via Facebook.
The young suspect could face five more counts of uttering threats and three more counts of invitation to sexual touching.
This adds to one count of uttering threats, two counts of invitation to sexual touching, two counts of luring a child and two counts of extortion that were already established early this month following an investigation that surfaced mid-November.
“These things quite often will start with one complainant and then when you get into it, you find out there’s a whole lot more that hasn’t been reported,” explained Trail RCMP Sgt. Rob Hawton.
“We feel now that we’ve located everyone who was a potential victim on the list, though there’s no guarantee.”
Police first received two leads on an account user making physical threats to convince local boys around 13 years old to add him as a friend on Facebook.
Once added, the suspect made sexual remarks and in some instances, asked the youth to remove their clothes while using a web camera.
The suspect and victims identities in this investigation are all protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
“This is serious when you look at the charges themselves, where it happens doesn’t really matter,” said Hawton.