Man, 28, accused of trying to lure teen girls online

Parents advised to warn children of risks

Victoria police are advising parents to talk with their children about online safety after a man accused of attempting to lure girls online was charged with 13 offences.

Police said five girls between 12 and 17 were contacted. None of the girls was physically harmed.

Aaron Craig, 28, has been remanded in custody and faces charges of luring a child under 14, luring a child under 18, communicating for or obtaining sexual services from a person under 18, and uttering threats.

Craig, of Victoria, also faces three charges resulting from a breach of conditions that prohibited him from contacting young girls via the Internet.

“This particular type of file is very concerning because it’s a stranger reaching out to young girls and trying to make them meet,” said Det. Sgt. Kristi Ross of the Special Victims Unit.

She said the SVU deals with sexually based offences and includes a full-time investigator dealing with child exploitation on the Internet.

In this case, the girls were contacted randomly by a man posing as a teenager of 18 or 19.

“He was friend-requesting these girls on Facebook and then chatting through Facebook Messenger,” Ross said.

The man would compliment the victims on aspects of their profile or on their pictures, which Ross said is a classic “grooming” technique.

“That’s something that parents should be aware of and kids should be aware of,” she said.

Eventually, the man attempted to meet the girls, who confided in adults “when the conversations got a little bit too much for them,” Ross said.

“It’s concerning that this was happening in the first place, that the conversations were happening, but it is good that they did realize that ‘hey, this has gone too far, this is not safe.’ ”

The case serves as a good reminder about the need to be careful online, Ross said.

“It’s not like the world is crawling with people online trying to lure your child, but you just need to be aware,” she said.

Ross suggested that children’s social-media accounts be set up with their parents, who should know the passwords. She also suggested having a contract that outlines expectations and consequences around appropriate behaviour.

“Kids need some privacy, but you have to do your best to keep them safe. Sometimes the risks are really minimal, sometimes they’re quite high.”

Preventive measures can include not accepting friend requests from unknown people and being careful with apps that can use geolocation to pinpoint where you are.

“It’s just smart to go in to decide which of your apps you want to have.”

Ross said she recommends that parents go to cybertip.ca for information about online safety.