Police issue warning after man charged with luring

Police in West Quebec are urging parents to verify their children’s social media activities, after a 27-year-old Gatineau man was charged with child luring and other offences.

Gatineau police said Jean-Simon Leblanc-Jalette is believed to have committed offences against at least two girls, one under the age of 16, since the beginning of 2019.

Police said Leblanc-Jalette reportedly contacted the girls on unspecified social media apps.

He allegedly began making sexual comments and sending pictures of his genitals to the victims. Although he knew the girls were underage, the suspect urged them to send him sexually explicit pictures in return.

Police also said he convinced one of the girls to meet him, and took the opportunity to touch her inappropriately.

Leblanc-Jalette has been charged with child luring, making sexually explicit material available to a child and sexual interference.

Evidence gathered during the months-long investigation suggests the suspect may have been in contact with other girls, including outside of Gatineau.

The information was shared with the Sûreté du Québec which, in turn, communicated the findings to the Serial Crime Investigation Management Structure (SCIMS), a provincewide investigation unit.

“We recommend that parents check their children’s applications and electronic devices to make sure that Jean-Simon Leblanc-Jalette has not come into contact with them via popular applications such as Facebook, Messenger, Snapchat, etc.,” police said.