Lethbridge man charged with extortion and luring in child porn investigation

Lethbridgepolice have charged an 18-year-old man with extorting nude photographs from a teenage girl via social media.

The 14-year-old girl contacted police in January, telling them she was befriended by a strangeronlineand pressured into sharing nude photos of herself.

Police discovered that an18-year-old suspectand the victim actually knew each otherand say he had been using false identities.

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Investigators say the girlcomplied and was allegedly extorted into sending additional photos, underthethreat of the photos going public and being shared with her family if she didn't comply.

"This case exemplifies the risks associated with online photo sharing,"said Cst. Jason Richmond, an investigator with the ALERT Integrated Child Exploitation Unit.

"Once you hit send, you lose complete control over how that image is going to be used or come back to haunt you."

The 18-year-old man is charged with extortion, making child pornography, accessing child pornography, possession child pornography, making sexually explicit material available to a child and luring for the purposes of child pornography.

He made his first court appearance this week and is due back incourt on June 16.

Police aren't releasing his name to protect the identity of the victim in the case.

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