Man, 53, faces raft of charges connected to luring incidents

A 53-year old man is facing sexual assault charges after a number of young girls were lured on the popular social media platform Snapchat, say detectives with the Edmonton police child protection section.

Officers earlier this month began investigating a report of a sexual assault on a young female. Investigations revealed a man befriended three female youth, two 14-yearolds and a 12-year-old, using the social media application Snapchat under the username @used2bc between December 2023 and early March 2024.

Investigators said the man offered to purchase vapes, marijuana and alcohol in exchange for nude images, videos and in-person sexual contact.

“We are concerned that other young females may have been potentially lured ... through Snapchat,” Det. Nicole Davie of the child protection section said in a news release. “We believe that there may be other victims out there. We encourage you to come forward and report it to police.”

All three youth continue to be supported by Edmonton's Zebra Child & Youth Advocacy Centre.

Horacio Benitez is charged with two counts of sexual assault, two counts of sexual interference, two counts of invitation to sexual touching, two counts of luring of a child, making child pornography, possessing child pornography, making sexually explicit material available to a child, two counts of obtaining sexual service of a child for consideration, and two counts of distributing cannabis to a person under 18 years old.

His next court appearance is Tuesday.

Anyone with information can contact police at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone or give anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.p3tips.com/250.