Nanaimo RCMP say a potential child luring incident was prevented after a 53-year-old man came to Vancouver Island to meet a young girl.
Police say they were called to Robbins Park in Nanaimo, British Columbia, on June 29 after two city workers saw the inappropriate couple talking together around 1:30 p.m.
“Witnesses said the two were sitting very close to each other in the stands and from their interactions and body gestures it did not appear to be a father-daughter relationship,” RCMP said in a release Monday.
After city workers spotted the man talking to the girl — who is between the ages of 11 and 15, police say — the workers called police.
Mounties then came to the park to speak with both the man and the girl.
“IT COULD HAVE ENDED HORRIBLY”
The youth told police she met the man through a social media platform called V-sing, a karaoke app that allows people to share videos of themselves singing and chat via private messenger.
The girl told police she believed the man was 25 years old and that they had been talking for about nine months, including daily FaceTime calls on her cell phone.
The youth told police the two were “nothing more than good friends” and when police spoke to the man, he said the same.
However, while the man claims the two are just friends, police say “he does not deny that his intentions could be seen as sexual in nature.”
The man also told police he had arrived in Nanaimo earlier that day after traveling from his home in the US Midwest.
US PARTICIPATION
Mounties say there was insufficient evidence to detain the man at the time, but he was ordered to leave the country.
Police said the Canada Border Security Agency was able to confirm he returned to the US later that day.
“This investigation is being pursued aggressively by this unit as well as the United States Department of Homeland Security,” said Const. Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
“Investigators would also like to thank the witnesses who provided such timely evidence. If not for their astute observations and phone call, this incident could have ended horribly for this young lady and her family,” he said.
The police have also published some tips for keeping children safe online:
- Try to engage them in a conversation about their online activity
- Know who your children’s online friends are
- Monitor what apps and websites they use and when
- Do not allow cell phones, tablets or any electronic device in their bedrooms
- Tell your kids to keep their location settings private
More internet safety tips can also be found on the Canadian Center for Child Prevention’s website.
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